THE 

.0^ 



WMMMMM'^, (^HJIID): 



OR 



A NEW THEORY OF AGRICULTURE; 



FOUNDED ON 



PHILOSOPHICAL AND PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES, 



AND 



ADAPTED TO ALL CLIMATES. 



BY JAMES G.ASKINS. 



/ 
2Jalttmore: 

PRINTED BY SAMUEL SANDS, 

N. W. corner of Baltimore & North-sts. 

1838. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1838, 

By James Gaskins, 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Maryland. 



3 3 S^^ 






TO THE 



LEGISLATURES 



2) IS IL 41"^^ :2 IS 41213 Sl^2i^2i^S?ID9 



THIS WORK IS 



RESPECTFULLY DEDI€ATED ; 



THE ONE MY NATIVE STATE, 



AND THE OTHER BY ADOPTION. 



JAMES GASKINS. 



TO THE 

AGRICULTURAL INTEREST OF THE U. STATES. 

Gentlemen :— • 

Having, after the expiration of more than 
thirty years, spent in the pursuit of practical Agri- 
culture, arrived at certain conclusions entirely at va- 
riance with the old established doctrines, it is my 
sincere desire that I may be successful in imparling 
to my fellow citizens, that knowledge on the im- 
provement of the soil. It is my object also to shew, 
why lands are so soon exhausted by the cultivation of 
certain crops, and the mode to be pursued for its pre- 
servation and resuscitation. The plan which this 
work propose?^, will insure the cultivation of your 
different crops of grain and vegetables without ex- 
hausting the soil, and also will insure the restora- 
tion of those lands which have been exhausted by the 
following crops, viz : wheat, corn, oats, rye, barley, 
tobacco and any of the vegetable products. By the 
process here recommended, lands may be made very 
rich in eight or ten years, though a crop of grain, to- 
bacco, or the grasses, be taken from each field every 

year. By this entirely new system of husbandry, all 
1* 



VI PREFACE. 

species of property would necessarily rise in value, 
and the tide of emigration to distant lands would 
cease. It is hoped that the people will open their 
eyes to their own interest, and no longer impoverish 
their lands, when it is equally easy to improve them. 
I submit this work to the impartial consideration of 
an enlightened community, firmly believing that an 
adherance to the principles here laid down, will not 
disappoint the expectations either of the community 
or of the author. 

Who very respectfully subscribes himself, 

The public's very humble servant, 
JAMES GASKINS, 
Proprietor of the American Hotel, 

And Virginia House, 

Baltimore. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The true art of cultivating the earth, is to cause it 
to produce the greatest possible quantity of susten- 
ance for man and beast, with the least possible in- 
jury to the land. This art is the foundation of all 
other arts ; at once the most useful, healthful, and 
agreeabk. Snatch from man this glorious art, and 
he at once sinks to a level with the savage, who 
roams the forest, and dwells in rudely constructed 
huts or caverns. Being the most ancient, as well as 
the most useful. Agriculture is not only a national 
blessing in one respect, that it feeds man and the an- 
imals which he governs; but that it gives employ- 
ment to seven-eighths of the people of all civilized 
countries, and at the same time humanizes and harmo- 
nizes the mind. 

The first account we have of the rise or of the ex- 
istence of Agriculture, we find in the writings of Mo- 
ses. Cain, we are there told, was a " tiller of the 
ground," and that his brother Abel made a sacrifice 
of the " firstlings of his flock." Again, we are told 
that Noah " began to be a husbandman, and planted 
a vineyard." 



Vill INTRODUCTION. 

The Egyptians carried their veneration for Agri- 
culture to a high pitch of enthusiasm; so much so, 
that they worshipped the ox in gratitude for his servi- 
ces in tilling the soil. 

The Chinese, as well as many others of the ancient 
oriental nations, held the art of husbandry in high es- 
timation, considering it the most honorable and the 
most lucrative. 

Many works were written on Agriculture by dis- 
tinguished ancient authors, though the greater number 
of them were lost in the long midnight of time, du- 
ring the dark ages, when war was the only accom- 
plishment which could elevate one individual above 
another. The Greek author, flesiod, who flour- 
ished about the time in which Homer wrote, is said 
to have given to the world a poem on Agriculture, 
with the singular title of " Weeks and Days," in al- 
lusion to the fact that days and seasons are observed 
in husbandry. 

The Carthagenians, perhaps, carried Agriculture 
to a higher state of perfection than any other ancient 
people. A certain Carthagenian general is reported 
to have written more than twenty- five books on hus- 
bandry, and in such estimation were they held, that, 
according to several ancient authors, the Roman Sen- 
ate, the most renowned body in the world, ordered 
them to be translated into Latin for the use of the 
people of the Roman empire. The Roman people 
deserved great praise for their devotion to the plough. 



INTRODUCTION. IX 

At one period a citizen of that mighty empire could 
not be rendered more illustrious than to be called a 
skilful husbandman. Virgil, in his immortal poem, 
has corroborated the fact, that men were distinguish- 
ed b}' their love of this science. M. Cato, the great 
orator, warrior and statesman, was more proud in 
speaking of an agricultural work he had written, than 
when he beheld triumphal arches rise to commemo- 
rate his brilliant exploits in the field. Pliny, and 
Varro, were also illustrious men who wrote upon, and 
admired the subject of husbandry. The celebrated 
Columella, who lived during the reign of the emperor 
Claudius, gave to the world twelve books on Agricul- 
ture, which were highly prized. 

But, unfortunately for the present day, as observed 
before, the dark ages have buried in their eternal 
gloom the proud monuments of many a glorious ge- 
nius. But such is the fate of man. He builds, as he 
vainly supposes, imperishable mementos to his re- 
nown ; yet, alas, they are touched by the noiseless 
tooth of time, and they crumble into dust — they 
pass away like the flickering shadows of a summer's 
evening. 

Yet though the noblest works of ancient genius 
perish, and the remembrance of them only lives in 
tradition. Agriculture shall still triumph, and shed its 
light upon the world, when even the proudest poten* 
tates of Europe have tumbled from their thrones, and 
are lost in the solitude of the grave. 



X INTRODUCTION. 

It will be the obj&ct of this work to show, howev- 
er, that the most distinguislied Agriculturists have 
mistaken the true path, and that they have groped in 
utter darkness. That this assertion is true, I need on- 
ly point the reader to the worn out lands of many 
parts of this otherwise flourishing country. Improp- 
er tillage has reduced them to what they are, though 
nature never designed that they should wear out. It 
is unreasonable, it is unnatural to suppose so. As 
well might we say that many or all the laws of nature 
are fickle and unstable, as to say that nature intended 
that the soil, which was intended to feed all animate 
nature, should soon by a law become incapable to 
fulfil its office. No: it is the mistaken notions, it is 
the improper culture of man. Therefore, as observ- 
ed before, it will be the especial object of this work 
to explode all such unnatural theories. 

JAMES GASKINS. 

Baltimore. 



A NEW THEORY 

FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE SOIL, 

In which it will be shown that Agriculturists have 

HERETOFORE OPERATED AGAINST NaTURE, INSTEAD OF 
■ AIDING HER. AlSO, IT WILL BE PROVEN, THAT LAND 
MAY BE RENDERED RICH WITHOUT THE APPLICATION OF 
A PARTICLE OF STABLE OR COMPOST MANURE. 



The landed estate is the most sacred interest that 
we have in the United Stales; whatever concerns Ag- 
riculture concerns every inhabitant of the globe, for 
its interests are the interests of the world ; and, 
therefore, every effort that is made to advance the 
success of the farmer, must spring at once from a 
pure spirit of philanthropy and patriotism. He who 
introduces into the art of Agriculture any thing new 
and useiul, renders himself at once a greater benefac- 
tor to mankind, than he who thunders at the gates of 
cities, and achieves a thousand victories in the field. 
I hold the doctrine to be incontestible, that the man 
who advances in any manner whatever the art of hus- 
bandry, is more deserving of fame than was the mad 
Macedonian when he conquered the world, and saw 



12 A NEW THEORY 

the nations of the earth kneeling before him; — yes, 
he is far more worthy of renown than was Napoleon, 
though thrones trembled and crowns crumbled at his 
approach. Alas, that the benefactors of mankind 
should so often have met the cold indifference of the 
world, and have been left to pine in penury, and per- 
ish unnoticed and disregarded. To the warrior who 
destroys thousands of his fellow beings, and makes 
so many mothers mourn, the marble monument is 
erected, and his renown is recorded on the imperish- 
able pages of history. To him who invents a many 
chambered rifle to destroy the human race by the 
wholesale, thousands of money are given, and his 
name recorded in the temple of fame. But how did 
poor Whitney, the inventer of the Cotton Gin, live 
and die? Alas ! though his invention has given mil- 
lions to the Southern States, yet he died a beggar, af- 
ter crawling through existence in the most abject 
poverty. 

In presenting novel views, upon a subject which 
has elicited the profoundest attention of the Geolo- 
gist, we well know that we must subject ourselves to 
the cavils of the ignorant, as well as the prejudices of 
the inexperienced. Relying, however, on the patient 
observation and experience of threescore years, we 
fearlessly present our views, having seen the practi- 
cal effects growing out of what others will term a 
dangerous innovation, or novel theory. There is evi- 
dently a strong tendency in the human mind to start at 



FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OP THE SOIL. IS 

any new system which may be advanced, and it has 
been the case from time immemorial. When Chris- 
topher Columbus first advanced his splendid theory of 
the necessity of a fourth quarter of the globe, the 
kings of Europe, to whom he applied for aid, ridicul- 
ed the project, and denounced him as a dreamer, an 
enthusiast or a maniac. He was at last indebted to 
a woman, queen Isabella of Spain, for his outfit; 
which resulted in the brilliant discovery of America. 
This is mentioned to shew how prone men are to 
ridicule and undervalue any thing that does not bear 
the stamp of age. Such was the fate of Fulton, when 
be projected the plan of steam navigation, The idea of 
moving any thing by the mere steam of boiling water, 
was perfectly ridiculous to the minds of thousands; 
and, consequently, no purse was open to aid him in his 
grand and glorious enterprise. But when the thousands 
who came on the wharf at New-York to hiss, saw the 
boat move on the water like a thing of life, their hissing 
was changed to shouting. What a triumph of genius 
was there! The above facts are brought to show, 
that no theory, however novel, should be rejected 
without deep and candid examination. Many facts 
are elicited, and many discoveries made in the world, 
that incredulous persons never could have conceiv- 
ed. Thirty years ago, what man would have believ- 
ed that in 1838 steam cars would be running on rail- 
roads at the rate of twenty, forty, and even sixty miles 

per hour.'' 
2 



14 A NEW THEORY 

We assume, then, as a proposition, that land is not 
exhausted by its products; but that its exhaustion 
arises from the exposure of the land to the sun du- 
ring the period of making the crop, together with the 
consequences growing out of the naked or unclothed 
condition of the land during winter. 

To prove this, take a view of lands that are richly 
timbered and which are generally found to be the rich- 
est. It is evident that the heavy growth of timber 
does not weaken the soil in fifty years, for the trees 
flourish, and the land is strengthened ; and the leaves 
which fall protect the soil in winter. Reverse the 
matter, and take a view of a tract of land which has 
not been sown in grain for many years, but which 
has been used for pasture ground. It will become 
impoverished; hence it follows, that the products of 
the soil do not weaken it. 

In order to sustain the above proposition, we shall 
offer a few illustrations which must come home to the 
mind of every practical farmer in the country. If 
you place a small coat of grass on your land, will the 
sun have the same power to extract the nitre from the 
soil and cause it to become dry.'' Certainly not. — 
No man who has observed the operations of nature 
will contradict the position here assumed. Then if 
your soil remain moist, having a coat of grass upon 
it, it will not only be placed in a situation to receive 
the moisture of the atmosphere, or the dews of the 
evening, but it will retain them. By this mode your 



FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE SOIL. 15 

lands must become enriched, for the rains, dews and 
snow are replete with nitre, and by placing this coat 
of grass upon your land during the Fall and Winter, 
you not only keep your land warm, but you retain 
the nitre which would otherwise have left the frozen 
earth. The affinity between the moist grass and the 
nitre would retain it until the following day, when it 
would melt and fall back upon the soil, enriching and 
improving it. For the nitre never leaves the soil in 
a frosted state, but becomes so when exposed so to 
the atmosphere. 

Take for example, to elucidate the above, a plank 
ten or twelve feet long and twelve inches wide ; lay 
it on the naked surface of the ground when frozen ; 
turn it over next morning, and you will find the under 
part of the plank white as snow. This result is pro- 
duced every night, and a constant evaporation and 
exhaustion is carried on through the winter. Whence 
arises this frost ? I answer, from the soil ; and it 
is tliis which impoverishes, exhausts, and weakens 
the soil, just as the rising of cream on new milk leaves 
the milk destitute of its original strength. 

The proper mode, then, is to put all your land in 
timothy and clover, except that portion you retain for 
the production of Indian corn, wheat, oats or tobac- 
co, and by this mode, simple as it is, you not only pro- 
tect your land from the heat of Summer and the cold 
of Winter — you not only preserve its inherent heat 
and fertility, but in the course of a few years your 



16 A NEW THEORY. 

land will become positively enriched. Every farmer 
should divide his farm into six parts or fields, two of 
which should be in wheat, corn, oats, tobacco or any 
other vegetable productions. The other four fields 
should be in clover, timothy, or any of the grasses. 
The fields should be numbered one, two, three, &c. 
For instance. No. 1 should be in corn ; No. 2 in grass- 
es ; No. 3 in grasses ; No. 4 in wheat, tobacco, or 
such like production; No. 5 in grasses, and No. 6 in 
grasses. Now in order to give the land that rest 
which it absolutely requires, the fields before number- 
ed, must be cultivated in regular routine; that is to 
say. No. 1, that is this year in corn, must be left in 
clover; and No. 2, that is this year in clover, must 
next year be planted in corn. Also, No. 4, that is 
this year in wheat, must be left in clover ; and No. 5, 
which is in grass, must next year be seeded with 
wheat, oats, or tobacco. This routine should be reg- 
ularly followed, by which the greater portion of the 
farm, say two thirds, would be in a state of rest; and 
being shielded from the rays of the sun by the coat of 
clover, evaporation would be greatly lessened, the 
earth would retain all the fatness it possesses, and 
would be continually increasing in fertility, from the 
abundance that falls from the clouds. 

No intelligent farmer should take more than one 
crop of grain or clover in one year from any one of 
the fields, as the old plan of cutting several succes- 
sive crops of clover the same year, leaves the land. 



EVAPORATIOIJ, &C. 17 

exposed, and the consequent impoverishment which 
ensues, more than counterbalances the extra profit 
which he denves. It should be enough that he de- 
rives the benefit of a crop from every field. The 
four crops of clover will be as profitable as the two 
crops of grain, after deducting the expenses of culti- 
vating the latter. Evaporation is the great enemy to 
land ; a much greater enemy than mankind have yet 
conceived it to be. That the system advanced in this 
book may he the better understood, I shall describe 
the manner in which water is taken up into the high- 
er regions ; how clouds are formed, and the rain 
thrown down upon the earth. 



PHILOSOPHICAL EXPOSITION OF EVAPORATION 
— Of the ascent of vapour — Of the formation or 
CLOUDS — And of the condensation and fall of 
rain. 

It is a fact well known in Natural Philosophy, 
that all the water of the earth, seas, lakes, rivers, &c. 
is alternately raised by the heat of the sun, and 
thrown down from the clouds to the earth. This 
beautiful process, this wise provision of nature, is 
constantly going ©n day and night, Winter and Sum- 
mer. It is Irom this cause that the earth is not drown- 
ed by the vast quantities of water which fall upon 

it. It is a well known truth, that there is not one 
2* 



18 PHILOSOPHICAL EXPOSITION 

drop more or less of water now, than there was at 
the creation of the world. 

It is a law in philosophy, that heat expands and cold 
contracts all bodies. It is said that there is but one 
exception to this rule, but whether it is really so or 
not I am not prepared to say, as the greatest philoso- 
phers are at variance on the subject. The excep- 
tion I allude to, is the freezing of water. It is well 
known to every individual, that water expands in free- 
zing, and to such a degree as often to burst asunder 
the vessel which contains it. Now whether it actu- 
ally absorbs heat in the act of freezing, I am not pre- 
pared to say. If it does, it is no longer an exception 
to the general rule. Some authors have contended, 
that the expansion of water in the act of freezing, is 
owing to the awkward arrangement of the parti- 
cles. 

But to proceed. In the beginning of the world, 
wiien God said, '' Let there be light, and there was 
light," the first golden ray wdiich fell from the glori- 
ous orb, — the sun, — on the earth and ocean, by ex- 
panding the particles of water, it became vapour, and 
being lighter than the atmospheric air, it ascended by 
a well known law into the regions of space. Now 
all bodies have a tendency to approach the centre of 
the earth, in proportion to their weight, or in propor- 
tion to the great quantity of matter in a small com- 
pass. An ounce of gold, which is next to the heavi- 
est of all metals, will never rise in the atmosphere 



OP EVAPORATION, &G. \ § 

while it remains in a solid cube or bar ; but when the 
gold beater has hammered it into thin leaves, it rises 
and floats in the air. Its great surface gives the air 
power to support it, and hence the attraction of grav- 
itation is destroyed. 

It is thus with water. Heat expands the dense 
particles of water, which becoming lighter ascend to 
the higher regions. If the atmosphere, which ascends 
forty miles above the earth, were every where of the 
same density, the vapour of the earth and sea would 
rise to the top; but nature designed it otherwise. 
The density of the air decreases in proportion to the 
squares of the distances from the earth. Conse- 
quently, so soon as the vapour rises to a region where 
the air is equally rarified, it ceases to ascend ; but 
floats in beautiful white clouds over the earth, or ap- 
pears in the West in' darkness and storm, its bosom 
occasionally illuminated with the livid lightning. 

As was observed before, the vapours arising from 
the earth accumulate in the upper regions, where the 
atmospheric air is of the same specific gravity. 
Here^ by the great accumulations of vapours, clouds 
are formed; which by coming in contact with a cold 
current of air, are condensed into water; and which 
by the law of gravity or weight, falls to the ground. 
The principle of condensation any one may observe 
in Winter, by blowing his breath against a cold pane 
of glass. Every perspn on a frosty morning must 
have observed the column of smoke-like breath 
which issued from his mouth. 



20 PHILOSOPHICAL EXPOSITION 

The manner in which drops of rain are formed is 
this. The cold stratum of air coming in contact with 
the vapour, condenses into water the minute particles, 
which coming within the sphere of each other's at- 
traction, are united in the form of drops. Becoming 
solid, their weight is increased, and they must de- 
scend on the fields and flowers of the earth. 

How wonderful, how heautiful, are the works of 
nature ! How much should we lift our minds to the 
great Author of such wonders! How nicely he has 
adapted every thing to its proper use. If the vast 
reservoirs of the earth were never emptied by evapo- 
ration, vegetation would perish from the abundance 
of water, and on the contrary, if all the waters were 
drawn off" by evaporation, the vegetable kingdom 
must droop and die. Again, were the vapours which 
are carried up from the earth always to remain in a 
state of vapour, the principle or law of evaporation 
would be of no service ; and on the contrary, were 
the power of attraction increased, the water instead 
of coming down from the clouds in drops, would fall 
in solid masses and crush the vegetable creation be- 
neath its mighty mass. 

Thus, to recapitulate, we find that the water, which 
we find in the ocean to-day, is to morrow carried up 
by evaporation in the clouds, and descends in the form 
of rain, hail, snow, frost, or dew, according to the 
height which it ascends, and the coldness of the cur- 
rent of air with which it comes in contact 



OF EVAPORATION, &C. 2X' 

Here, then, I come to the point necessary to eluci- 
date the subject under consideration. When rain is 
formed, it is by the simple condensation of the vapour 
into drops. When hail is formed, it is first by con> 
densation of the vapour into drops, \'vhich by a very 
cold current are frozen into hail stones as they fall. 
Snow is nothing more than half condensed vapour, fro- 
zen just before it falls, by attraction, into drops. 
Dew is fine vapour which has not ascended high into 
the atmosphere, and falls before attraction renders 
the drops large, by bringing many of the particles 
together. 

Now all these, by percolating or filtering through. 
the earth, leave the nitre which they contain in the 
soil, and render it rich when the land is screened frona. 
the sun by a coat of clover or any o( the grasses. As 
was observed before, this is effected in the same man- 
ner that a spot of earth becomes rich when covered 
with a plank or pile of stones. 



ON THE 

CULTIVATION OF WHEAT. 



Permit me to give you my opirJOH as to the proper 
and best manner of cultivating wheat. In the first 
place, procure the best seed wheat you can obtain, 
and instead of ploughing your fallow in the months of 
June, July, or August, you should seed your wheat in 
the months of September and October, on the top of 
your clover, and on the hard ground. Plough your 
clover "svheat in about four inches together, and as 
soon as you turn them under, seed the same ground 
down in buckwheat. Then apply a large fallow har- 
row and pulverize the ground. Use the harrow in 
the same direction that you ploughed it ; then seed 
the ground in timothy or orchard grass, and the clover 
will seed itself from the crop you have turned in. 
Clear out your furrow, so as to drain the land, and 
then take as heavy a roller as you can obtain and roll 
the land crossways. You may see from this mode of 
seeding wheat, that it is all manured in the hill. I 
have turned under the clover and the soil together, 
which manures the wheat. The buckwheat will 
come up in six or eight days, and cover the land from 
the sun. The clover and timothy will do likewise, 



CULTIVATION OP WHEAT. 23 

and by the time the frost takes the buckwheat, it will 
be from eighteen inches to two feet high. The frost 
will kill the buckwheat, but the straw will remain, 
which will keep the land warm and the wheat will re- 
main beautifully green all Winter, with the clover and 
timothy. Your wheat will branch from ten to fifteen 
times, and will branch again in the Spring following. 
By this mode of seeding, your wheat will be as 
thick as it can stand, and as high as your chin. 

It is an undeniable fact, that you will never fail to 
make a crop by this mode of procedure. The Win- 
ter cannot kill your wheat, clover or grass, for the 
straw which remains on the land from the buckwheat 
will preserve and keep them warm, as was observed 
before. 

If there should be a small fall of snow together with 
a wind, the snow will lodge in the straw, which will 
retain it and keep it from blowing off. The crop of 
straw will prevent the evaporation of the frosts in win- 
ter, for as the Nitre that leaves the earth which makes 
the frost on the underside of a plank which lies on 
the ground would evaporate in the air, if the plank 
were not there, so it is the case with all lands which 
are left in a naked and exposed state. If your lands 
are covered with grass they will retain the Nitre un- 
til next day, when it will dissolve and fall back into 
the soil, thus rendering your land constantly richer. 

In the Spring, so soon as<he hard frosts are over, 
your land should again be rolled, so as to set the 



gi CULTIVATION OF WHEAT. 

wheat and grass back into the soil. Then your crop 
will proceed to grow vigorously, and your soil to im- 
prove rapidly. Your wheat land is left under clover 
and timothy, and you should not turn any kind of 
stock on your stubble field ; but have your stubble ra- 
ked as carefully as possible, by which means you 
will save all your scattered wheat. You should by 
no means pasture any of your lands which you intend 
for cultivation and wish to improve; for the cropping 
of the clover or grass exposes the lands to the direct 
rays of the sun, which, as before observed, carry off 
by evaporation the richness of the soil. 

Note. — I have known one gallon of wheat raised 
from a single grain, in the garden of VVm. Brinckley, 
of Milford, State of Delaware. The reader, no doubt, 
will be anxious to know how it was effected. I will 
gratify so laudable a curiosity. The grain of wheat 
was planted early in the Spring, and continued to 
grow until the month of June, when it was taken up, 
seperated into ninety branches, and then transplanted 
one foot apart each way. It was then cultivated with 
a hoe through the summer, and that wheat branched 
as luxuriantly as the first; so that the whole space of 
ground was filled up the next Summer. The wheat 
was cut and threshed, and measured, to the astonish- 
ment of many, one gallon. 

From this the frugal farmer may see how much 
may be raised by putting in wheat carefully, and bj 
taking good care to have the land covered in Winter 
with the same kind of straw. 



COR N. 25 

ON THE CULTIVATION OF CORN. 

Flush your field, which has remained in clover and 
grass for the two last years, about six inches deep ; 
checker the ground at the distances you wish to plant 
your corn. While you are checkering off your 
ground, you should not suffer your plougli to run 
deeper than four inches. By this nieans you leave 
the rich part of the earth two inches lower down than 
you drop your corn. Cover your grain out of the 
furrow, and you have the rich part of your land at 
the bottom of the hills. 

Your land having been covered all Winter with clo- 
ver and grass, vegetation will spring and grow with 
great rapidity ; and the richness of the soil will have 
been increased in consideration of its having been 
rested fur two years. It is an incontrovertible fact, 
that the groivth of grain is twice as rapid when the 
soil has previously been covered, as when it has been 
exposed to frost, which causes evaporation to take 
place, and your land becomes clammy and dead, until 
the land receives the Nitre again by the dews and 
rains in the Spring. 

So soon as your corn comes up, you must com* 
mence the cultivation of it with the harrow ; which 
should go over it twice in succession. Then take 
your small plough and cross plough your corn, and 
by that time your presence will be needed in the har- 
vest field. So soon as you get through your harvest, 
you should return to your corn field ; and if the sea- 
son should prove dry, you should work your corn the 



26 CORN. 

faster, say twice a week, and proceed until you find 
the silk is dead, and turned black at the end of the 
ear; lor so long as there is new silk connirig out of 
the ear or husk, you must continue to work your 
corn, inasmucli as the cob is growing larger, and new 
grains forming. 

By this mode of cultivating your corn, you will be 
sure of a full crop, if not a double one. You must 
pick your best corn for seed ; break your ear in the 
middle, and take the best end for your seed. If your 
land is w-et, you should soak your corn by passing 
hot water through it the night previous ; as it is a well 
known fact, that if the ground is wet and the corn 
dry, the latter will rot, and vice versa. 

If the season should prove wet, you mu-^t endeav- 
or to keep your land well drained, and woik it once 
or twice a week wiih your harrow. So soon as the 
silk of the corn becomes black or appears dead, you 
should commence taking down your Jodder ; and so 
soon as you get it secured, you should commence cut- 
ting off by the ground the stalks, and have them 
shocked against the fence of your barn yarn, or some 
other convenient place. 

You may now seed your corn ground down in 
buckwheat with a harrow; then seed the same ground 
in clover and grass; roll the ground with your roller, 
and the buckwheat will come up in six or eight days, 
which will cover and give security from the sun to the 
land, clover and grass. By the time the frost nips the 



CORN. 27 

buckwheat it will be from eighteen inches to two 
feet in height; the straw of which will remain on the 
land, and give to it as well as the clover and grass, 
all the warmth they require from the cold of Win- 
ter. 

In the ensuing Spring, s^o soon as the hard frosts 
ate over, you should roll your grass and clover, and 
settle them into the earth. The next harvest you will 
have a lull crop o( hay, and by this mode you will 
not any year lose a cro[) from any of your fields. 

You should never plouj;h your land in tlie Summer 
or Fall, unless you cannot avoid it; which must be 
done in the seeding of your wheat. You should 
never plough your land more than six inches deep, as 
it will sink the richer part of the soil so deep as to 
require one or two years to bring that soil again to the 
surface, and yield nourishment to vegetation. If I 
v»^ere at present a practical farmer as I have been, I 
would not use any plough larger than a nine inch 
plough, and from that size to one of six inches. The 
small plough can be made to plough up the most grassy 
land, by giving it the double singletree; that is to 
say, if your plou2jh cuts nine inches, your double sin- 
gletree must be twenty-seven inches long. If your 
plough cuts eight inches, your double singletree must 
be twenty-four inches. By having your double sin- 
gletree tliree times the length that your plough cuts, 
your plough will always run easy to the horses, 
and turn the furrow in the very best manner. 



28 RYE. 



ON THE CULTIVATION OF RYE. 

You should have your seed clean and of the best 
quality, and seed your rye on the top of your clover 
in the months of October and November. You 
should plough your clover and the rye all in together, 
about four inches ; and then seed your ground behind 
the plough in buckwheat. The next process is to 
take your fallow harrow and pulverize your ground 
as finely as possible, and afterward clean out your 
furrows. The same land should be seeded in timo- 
thy, and the clover will seed itself. 

Obtain a roller if you have none, and roll the 
ground crossways as well as you can. In six or eight 
days your buckwheat will come up, and cover your 
ground from the sun in the Fall. The buckwheat 
will grow from 15 to !8 inches by the time the frost 
takes it. There will be straw enough on the ground 
to shelter the rye, clover and timothy, from the Win- 
ter, and there will be no fear but you will be able to 
make a double crop. 

By this mode of cultivating your land, it must be- 
come rich ; for the frosts cannot draw the Nitre from 
^he earth, and by keeping the earth warm in Winter, 
and cool in Summer, your land will improve faster 
than by the aid of manure raised on the same ground. 
It is my opinion that nothing raised from the earth 
impoverishes it. Look, as was observed before, at 



RYE. 29 

the lofty woodlands of the West, that have stood for 
ages. Now, according to the common doctrine, so 
many large oaks would suck up all the substance of 
the soil and render it as noor as silex itself. Look 
again at the Prairies of the West. They are an evi- 
dence at once that my doctrine is true. Tljcy are 
eternally covered with sedge or giass, and are as rich 
as land can possibly be. 

The nakedness of the land during Winter and Sum- 
mer is the cause of its impoverishment, and another 
grand cause is the constant tillage without giving the 
land rest. U is as natural for the soil to require rest 
as man. In the State of Delaware, particularly the 
lower counties, a ruinous mode of culture has been 
pursued for years. The land is mostly held by the 
wealthy, and tenants seldom take or rent a farm for 
more than one year. His object then is to get all off 
the land he possibly can, and of course tills all he 
can. They practise entirely on the old plan. 

I beg of the farmers of Maryland, and of the Uni- 
ted States, to follow my ad/ice as it respects the 
mode of tilling, and put their farms in six or eight 
fields; and my word for it, you will see the benefit 
which will follow. You will discover that you are be- 
coming rich as well as your land, and your regret will 
be, that you did not know this mode of cultivation 
sooner. 

The action of the sun on the naked land, is like 

tlie power of the ravs which come through a lens ar 
3* 



so RYE. 

sun glass. The focus, which is formed by the refrac- 
tion of the rays in passing through the double convex 
lens, sets on fire the segar or any other object present- 
ed ; but if a piece of muslin or any other substance 
is interposed between the lens and the segar, no effect 
is produced. It is precise!} the case with land. If 
the sun shines down on its naked bosom, the gasses 
which arise from it, carry otf into the atmosphere the 
richest particles of its substance. But on the contra- 
ry, if the soil be covered with a thick coat of grass 
or clover, the sun's rays are excluded, and instead of 
losing, the earth is continually absli acting nitre from 
the rairs, hails, dews, snows, &c. Strip those rich 
Prairies of the West, expose the surface to the direct 
action of the sun, and my word for it, they will every 
year become poorer, though no crop of any grain may 
be reaped from them. 1 repeat it again, and I will re- 
peat it a thousand times, that the soil is not inipover- 
ished by what is taken off of it, only that when culti- 
vated it is necessatily more or less exposed to the sun. 
If land could be cultivated, and at the same time 
covered witli clover from the sun's rays, I should have 
no hesitation in saying, that so far from becoming 
poor, it would become rich. 

There is a piece of woodland in Delaware once 
turned out as a common, and now grown up in oaks, 
which has become rich. I recollect having noticed 
the W'heat ridges, where fifty or sixty years agograin 
was cultivated. It became exhausted and was turned 



OATS. Sf 

out, but was when I saw it, rich. From what cause 
was it enriched ? From the growth of tioiber? No, 



ON THE CULTIVATION OF OATS, 

I will, in the present chapter, give my mode of rais- 
ing a double crop of oats. In the first place, you 
should seed your oats on the ground that remained in 
clover the last Fall, and one thing should be particu- 
larly observed ; the oats should be seeded on top of 
the ground, and ploughed in about four inches. 
Leave your land in ridges, and then take your large 
fallow harrow and harrow the ground the same way 
you ploughed it, and pulverize the land as thorough- 
ly as possible. After which, clean out your furrows, 
and seed the land with clover, timothy, or orchard 
grass. The roller should then be passed over the 
ground crossways. 

You now have turned in the soil together with the 
oats in the manner they should be. The roller pass- 
ing over the land leaves it packed hard, which pre- 
pares it to resist the action of the sun, and prevents 
the evaporation of the Niire; which is the strength 
of the land. Your oats in this condition will soon 
come up, cover the ground, and shade the clover 
and grass. The clover and giass will thus be screen- 
ed from the rays of the sun, and the danger of being 
killed ; and you will be sure to realize a double crop 



32 OATS. 

of oats. This is not imagination, but fact from expe- 
rience. 

When you have harvested your oats, you should by 
no means pasture your oat stubble, inasmuch as your 
stock will eat down the stubbie and expose the earth 
to the sun, which I have repeatedly said is ruinous to 
any land, be its quality ever so good. Not only will 
the land be injured, but the clover and grass will be 
killed. It is evident to the reason of any man, that 
the earth should not be exposed to the frosts of Win- 
ter, any more than to the sun of Summer. The land, 
I contend, is not exhausted by what grows out of it, 
but by the evaporaiion which is constantly going on 
Winter and Summer. Wet your hand for example, 
and mark how soon it becomes dry again ; but if you 
cover your wet hand with putty, it will require hours to 
dry. Why is this? Because in the first instance, the 
y)and is exposed to the heat of the atmosphere, 
which vaporizes the water and causes it to fly off in 
the form of fine steam. But in the case of the cover- 
ed hand, tiie heat of the atmosphere is excluded ; and 
hence evaporation cannot take place; or if it does, it 
is in a very imperfect manner. It is precisely thus 
with the land when covered or uncovered. To have 
an idea how rapidly water is evaporated by heat, ex- 
amine the tea-kettle or the steam engine. In the lat- 
ter machine, gallons of water are evaporated in a few 
hours. The quantity which arises from a single acre 
of ground in twenty-four hours, has been ascertained 
to be immense. 



1 



OATS. 33 

How wonderfully and how wisely is every thing in 
nature formed ! Observe, for instance, the process 
of evaporation. Were evaporation stopped^ the hea- 
vens would soon exhibit no clouds to our view ; no 
rainbow would span the great arch above, and the 
earth would retain all its water. Hence no rain, no 
dews, no frosts would fall to nourish and cherish the 
products of the earth. The washerwoman might 
hang out her clothes, but they would never dry ; and 
even the sweat which pours forth on the body of man, 
would always remain to render him wet and misera- 
ble. How wisely formed then are the works of that 
sublime Being, who spoke the universe into existence ! 
How wisely he has framed every thing for the enjoy- 
ment of man! But man, ungrateful man, pays no re- 
gard to His gifts, but destroys them as he has the land, 
which the Deity intended never should wear out. 

Now that the land should never be left naked eith- 
er in Winter or Summer, may be proven by taking 
one acre of land and planting it in corn, while you 
suffer another acre to lie idle and uncultivated in any 
grain; yet you are to woik the land as though some- 
thing were raised on it. The acre which is culti- 
vated according to my plan, will every day grow 
richer and richer; whilst the other acre, which is 
worked every day without any product, will every 
day become poorer and poorer. Is not this a proof 
of the position assumed ? Is not this a proof that the 
land is not exhausted by what is grown upon it^ 



34 GRASSES. 

Let it be impressed upon your mind, that you are 
never to take but one crop from your land each year, 
the balance to remain on the land to preserve it from 
the sun in Summer, and the frosts in Winter. Every 
other process will tend to impoverish your land, and 
render you poorer in purse. 



ON SEEDING 

AND RAISING THE GRASS CROP. 

Among the many improvements and advantages yet 
to be studied by the Agriculturists of tliis and other 
States, there are none more important tlian those 
which concern the cultivation of the gras-; or hay crop; 
I mean the modes which 1 recommend. Notwith- 
standing the evident benefit and great advantages in 
point of saving, it appears exceedingly difficult to per- 
suade our planters of the value of my plans, and the 
truth of my theory. I am of opinion, however, that 
one experiment described will entirely remove their 
obstinacy ", and I trust for the benefit of all concern- 
ed, that there are few who will refuse one effort, no 
matter on how small a scale, to remove all prejudice. 
I am perfectly satisfied that the period will very 
soon airive. when every intelligent agriculturist will 
acknowledge the truth of my theory. 

The proper time for seeding grass or clover, is 



GRASSES. So 

whenever the ground is in order; that is, whenever 
you seed your wheat, oats, &c. So soon as corn is 
ripe and ht to take from the ground, the fiehi should 
be seeded down in clover and timothy. Buckwheat 
should be sown upon the field, for the purpose of 
more etfectually shielding the land from the sun, 
and also of protecting t!>e clover and timothy. 

Clover, timothy, and indeed all kinds of grasses 
which are intended to be cut for hay, should never be 
scattered out of the svvarlh ; because in addition to 
the labour of scattering and again raking it up, the 
hay is greatly injured. If indeed the weather be fa- 
vorable, it should not be scattered ; for the action of 
the sun destroys the sweetness of the hay and grass. 
The action of the air is all that is necessary when the 
hay is curing. The less it is exposed, the greater 
will be its value, and less the labour required. Suf- 
fer the hay to lie in swarths, untd about two thirds of 
the upper part be sufficiently cured. This, in good 
wef)ther, will be accomplished in eight or ten hours; 
and if the swarth be light, in a less time. 

When the top is cured, turn the swarth bottonri 
upwards; let it lie until cured like the first, and 
then throw three swarths together, and place reg- 
ularly in rows. When carting in, drive between the 
two rows and load from each. It is hardly necessa- 
ry to observe, that all these operations must be per- 
formed after the dews have dried off. It should be 
recollected that clover will keep with less drying 



SQ GRASSES. 

than almost any other grass, by applying a layer of 
clover and a sprinkle of salt; and then there is no fear 
of your horses liaving what is called ihewaler-brashj 
or a running at the mouth. 

Your layers, sprinkled with salt, should rise to 
about eight to twelve inches thick, each layer. These 
should be continued on top of each other, until all 
your hay is prepared. 

If desirable, you may apply a layer of wheat straw 
between every two layers of clover, by which your 
straw will imbibe the juice of the clover, and become 
almost equal to some kinds of [lay. 

The proper test when clover is cured, is to take up 
a handful and give it a twist ; if no juice issues, it is 
cured. I have often cut clover in the morning and 
hauled it in, in the evening; and generally the suc- 
ceeding day, unless bad weather prevented. When 
the above mode is pursued of salting clover or any 
kind of grass, cattle are extremely fond of it. Far- 
mers will find, that clover hay is the cheapest food on 
which they can keep their stock in good order during 
the Winter; especially if put up in good order, and 
sheltered from bad weather. Both horses and cattle 
will keep fat on it throughout the Winter, without the 
aid of grain, except when w^orked. 

Clover, w^hen put up in stacks, will not resist the 
rays as well as timothy and other grasses. Clover 
should be cut for bay when one half of the head be- 
comes of a brown color. If cut earlier, it is be- 



i 



VEGETABLES. 37 

lieved that it will not be so nutritious. IT cut la- 
ter, the stem will become hardened and it will lose 
its substance. 

For hogs and stock that are young, clover may 
be cut so soon as in full bloom ; of which they are 
excessively fond. They might I think be wintered 
on it. 

When the farmer can do it, he will find it advanta- 
geous to provide himself with long narrow sheds, 
open all round for the preservation of hay of all 
kinds. Under these sheds, let the hay be put down 
in layers as mentioned above. By this mode you 
will be able to preserve your hay in a much better 
manner than in cocks or stacks. As yet there are 
few persons in this country sufficiently expert in the 
art as to insure its preservation without narrow sheds. 
All farmers who have no sheds or barns, should can 
the top of their stacks of clover with some other 
kind of hay, which will insure its preservation. 



ON THE 

CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES. 

The ground which you intend for a Truck Patch 

the next Spring, if not in clover the present Fall, 

should be covered with some kind of hay or leaves 

from the woods, and brush. The brush is to prevent 
4 



38 VEGETABLES. 

your leaves from blowing away. From six to ten inch- 
es deep you should cover the ground, for the pur- 
pose of preventing the Nitre from evaporating during 
the time the land is frozen ; for that is the time the 
land loses its strength. By preventing its freezing 
during the Winter season, it will improve on the prin- 
ciples advanced in former pages. The lains and 
snows will run down through the hay and leaves, and 
thus enrich the soil. 

So soon as the Spring is open, you should rake off 
the hay or other covering, and set fire to it. You are 
then prepared to proceed in the cultivation of your 
vegetables, in your own favorite manner. When 
your crop is ended, you should seed your land down 
in clover or timothy, as you have been recommended 
to do your corn land. The next harvest you will be 
able to reap a crop of clover and timothy. 

As an experiment, you should plant a quantity of 
vegetables on the south side of your fence, which has 
been standing for a number of years and has become 
rich, by being covered and shaded from the sun in the 
Summer, and the frosts in the Winter, by the grass 
and w^eeds which grow under the fence. After your 
fence has stood a few years in the same place, you 
will rake up the manure from under those fence 
locks, and consider it good ; and then you w'lW 
divide it on your other lands, which you have suffered 
to lie exposed by your very inaproper mode of culti- 
vation. This you have done while in the corn crop 



ON VEGETATION. 39 

in the summer, and j^ou have also left it naked in win- 
ter. 

But if you adopt my plan, your fields in a Cew years 
will become as rich, and even richer, than the soil un- 
der your fences ; and you will need no more manure 
than is made on your farm by the genial hand of na- 
ture. It must be here understood that there must be 
a soil, or my system falls to the ground. If the land 
is composed of nothing but silex or sand, nature can 
do nothing in enriching it. But there are none of our 
farms but have a soil, and by a soil I mean earthy 
substance, in which more or less vegetable matter is 
mixed. The next chapter will more fully explain 
what I mean by vegetable matter. 



PHILOSOPHICAL DiSaUISITION ON VEGETATION. 

A plant or a tree as well as man, is an organized 
body, endowed by nature with particularly construct- 
ed parts, which perform certain functions, from which 
proceed the principle we call life. Mineral bodies, 
in contradistinction to these, appear to be more the 
creatures of chance, formed by chymical and mechan- 
ical attraction. Design is marked on every arrange- 
ment of the animal or vegetable parts, and that un- 
known principle of Zz/e, which has puzzled philoso- 
phers from the foundation of the world. How life 



40 ON VEGETATION. 

causes the animal and vegetable organs to perforno 
their wonderful functions, will perhaps never be 
known to any but the great Author of Life and Ar- 
chitect of the Universe. 

Nature deals in simple substances, as well as simple 
operations. All organized bodies, whether of the 
animal or vegetable kingdom, are made up of a great 
many compounds, which however result from a few 
elementary principles. Animals are composed of 
carbon, oxygen, hydro-^en and nitrogen ; while the 
composition of vegetables is carbon, oxygen and hy- 
drogen. These are the component or constituent 
parts of animals and vegetables, yet there are many 
other substances ; but which, as they are not essen- 
tial to organized life, are not component parts. These 
substances are silex, sulphur, lime, phosphorus, iron, 
&c. It is recorded as a fact, that there is sufficient 
iron in the blood of forty-eight men, to make a 
ploughshare weighing twenty-seven pounds. 

So long as life exists in the animal or vegetable, 
the simple bodies which enter into their composition 
are susceptible of only certain combinations ; but the 
moment life ceases and death ensues, new combina- 
tions are formed. A new order of attraction ensues, 
the moment the old one is destroyed; and hence 
comes putrefaction and decay. Were it not that 
these effects are produced, the dead vegetable or ani- 
mal would always retain its natural appearance and 
form. But this is not the case, and though we embalm, 



ON VEGETATION. 



41 



dry or preserve in any manner the animal or vegeta- 
ble, yet finally in the course of time, it will crumble 
to dust. How wisely has the Great Disposer of 
Events ordered this ! By this universal decay of an- 
imal and vegetable matter, by thus returning to origi- 
nal principles, which go back into the earth, the 
new plant and the new animal are nourished and sus- 
tained. Thus one vegetable rises out of the earth, 
flourishes, decays, dies, and returns to first principles, 
from which another plant is nourished, and that plant 
nourishes another animal. Who knows but the dust 
of the mighty Caesar, or the famed Alexander, may 
have stopped the chink of some peasant's log cabin, 
or have nourished some gay flower or noxious weed.'' 
It is not at all improbable. The bones of the heroes 
who fell upon the field of Waterloo, when the star of 
Napoleon's glory went down in blood, have been sold 
by the load to feed and fatten the soil. No doubt 
but many an ear of corn has sprung from the relics of 
those, to whom Napoleon once spoke and pointed to 
the path of fame. O Temporal O Mores ! What 
is human glory ! What the blast of fame ! 

There is a mutual reciprocity throughout nature. 
From the dead animal and vegetable spring the living 
ones; and there is, besides, a mutual dependence ex-- 
isting between man and the vegetable kingdom. It 
is well known, that neither flame nor animal life can 
exist without oxygen ; and it is equally well known, 

that plants, trees, &c. are continually throwing off in- 

4* 



43 ON VEGETATION. 

to the atmosphere the oxj'gen gas, which man breathes. 
He, on the contrary, throws off from his lungs car- 
bonic acid gas, which is breathed in by the leaves of 
trees, plants, &c. Here, then, is one reason why we 
are exhilirated in a flower garden. Living flowers 
are healthy, but dead ones are quite the reverse, 
and should never be kept in a bed-room, as they 
throw out noxious gasses or efiiuvia. 

It is to be understood by the reader, that the object 
of this work is practical, and, therefore, 1 shall dwell 
only on those parts of the philosophy of vegetation, 
which will have a tendency to elucidate this work, 
and throw light upon the new theory which I have ad- 
vaKced, and which I have no doubt will be adopted 
when better understood. I wish the reader particu- 
larly to understand, that the author has not advanced 
his theory from the stores of his imagination merely, 
but from the practice of many years in the State of 
Delaware, where he possessed every facility for ex- 
periment. 

It has been asserted in this work, that the soil is 
not exhausted by what is taken from it in the form of 
product; but by the exposure of the surface to the 
sun in Summer, and the frosts in Winter. The wood- 
land is an example of this. If the old theory be cor- 
rect, there would not be nourishment sufficient in the 
earth to supply so many lofty oaks, placed so near 
each other. On the contrary, we find that wood land 
becomes gradually rich, and if covered with clover, 
would more rapidly become so. 



ON VEGETATION. 43 

The roots of a tree conslilule evidently the stom- 
ach, corresponding to that of man. This stomach, or 
the fine fibres of the roots, takes up vegetable matter, 
which is very minutely dissolved in water, and con- 
veys the fluid, which is like the chyle when it leaves 
the animal stomach, up the alburnum, or heart wood, 
to the lungs or leaves ; for it is evident that the leaves 
of a plant or tree constitute the lungs. Now when 
the chyle, (or milky fluid,) leaves the stomach of the 
animal, it is not blood, and has not the power to nour- 
ish and do the offices of blood, until it enters the lungs 
and becomes oxydized by absorbing the oxygen from 
the atmosphere, when it becomes red, and is sent to 
all parts of the body. It is precisely so with the sap 
or blood of the tree. So soon as it reaches the 
leaves, it is elaborated or changed in its properties by 
the action of the air; and it is for this purpose that 
Nature formed the leaf so large and thin, giving a 
large surface to the action of the air. When the sap 
is properly changed by the action of the atmosphere 
through the surface of the leaf, it is sent down the 
tiee between the cortical layers, and deposits as it 
goes the woody matter, which gradually hardens into 
wood. 

Here we seethe wisdom of God in the wonders of 
the vegetable creation. I mean, the great similitude 
or resemblance between the animal and the vegetable 
creation; particularly in the circulation of the blood, 
in each. The roots represent the stomach in the an- 



44 SWEET POTATOES. 

imal ; the holes or pores in the alburnum, are the 
veins ; the leaves are the lungs, and the delicate corti- 
cal layers, the veins. The only difference is, that 
the organs and functions of the animal are much more 
complicated than those of the vegetable. In Winter, 
when the circulation of the tree ceases, and the leaves 
are no longer required as lungs, they drop off, and 
give back to the earth vegetable matter, spreading be- 
fore man as they fall, a beautiful emblem of mor- 
tality. 



ON THE 

CULTIVATION OF THE SWEET POTATO. 

The seed of the sweet potato should be selected 
in the Fall, when the crop is housed. Potatoes in 
Winter should be put away in dry sand, in a hole 
made for the purpose under the kitchen floor, near the 
hearth, where they can neither be frosted nor freeze. 
About the first of March, a hot-bed should be made 
large enough to contain whatever quantity of seed 
you should wish to plant. The piece of ground you 
intend for a hot-bed, should be in a warm place on the 
south side of your house or fence. Dig up the 
ground from fifteen to eighteen inches deep, remove 
that dirt, and then fill up the space thus made with 
the best rotted stable manure, nearly to the top ; say 
whhin four inches. 



SWEET POTATOES. 45 

Now take your sweet potato, and place them near- 
ly touching each other ; then cover them with rich 
mould about four inches deep, and by the middle of 
May, or the first of June, your potatoes will sprout 
and come through the ground from eight to ten inch- 
es. Potatoes at this time will have no roots. Your 
ground should be prepared and put in perfect order, 
and if a sandy soil, manure it with hog manure. 
Make your hill about eighteen or twenty inches high, 
and so soon as your ground is in order, then go to 
your hot bed and break up one side, from which take 
up the potatoes carefully. The sprouts should not 
be broken off. Take them to the hill, dig a hole in 
the top deep enough to set in the potato, and leave 
the top of the sprout about three inches above the top 
of the hill. Then the potato will commence grow- 
ing again, and as soon as your hills become grassy, 
you should pick it off" carefully from the top and weed 
down the sides two or three times, or until the vines 
begin to cover the hills. Then take your hoe and hill 
up those hills, until you nearly cover the tops of the 
vines. Treat your hills in this manner two or three 
times, and your cultivation will be finished. By the 
first of September, if the weather be seasonable, your 
potatoes will be large enough for the table. So soon 
as the frost kills the tops of the vines, you may dig 
them, as they will then cease to grow. It appears 
that frost is fatal to all vegetation, and if so powerful 
on vegetation, why not on the soil which produces 
that vegetation ? 



46 IRISH POTATOES. 

ON THE 

CULTIVATION OF IRISH POTATOES. 

I now intend to draw the reader's attention to my 
plan for cultivating Irish potatoes. In the first place, 
it is necessary to show the difference in tire growth of 
the Irish and sweet potato. The former grows up- 
ward from the side, the latter downwards; therefore, 
it is necessary to plant your Irish potatoes as deep as 
you can ; say from twelve to fifteen inches. This 
crop is for your Fall and Winter potatoes. 

When you prepare your land, plough your furrows 
two or three times in the same place, so as to make 
the furrow as deep af< you can; say from fifteen to 
eighteen inches. Then drop your potatoes in the bot- 
tom of the furrow. If they are cut, they should be 
split lengthways ; then put about six inches of stable 
manure on the potatoes, after which cover the whole 
with five or six inches of rich mould. 

So soon as your potatoes come up, work the dirt to 
the hill ; and by so doing, you will cover up the grass, 
which will destroy it. By this process, the soil will 
always remain light round the potatoes, and they will 
always be well covered. The cooler they are kept 
the better, while growing. Kept reasonably cool, 
they grow larger, dryer, and the skin is remarkably 
thin. Potatoes raised in this manner, are so mealy 
that they fall to pieces when boiled. 



IRISH POTATOES. 4T 

In cultivating early potatoes, I should plant the first 
of December; and would prepare my ground in the 
following manner: I would take a piece of land that 
was in clover, and plough one lurrow; then drop or 
plant my potatoes in that furrow. I would then collect 
some coarse stable manure and cover the potatoes 
about three inches thick, then turn the next clover sod 
on the potatoes, and then go on to flush the clover un- 
til time for another roiv ; say about three feet six inch- 
es. The next row should be planted in tlie same 
manner. The potatoes should be dropped about three 
inches apart. As before observed, split your pota- 
toes lengthways, and make four quarters. 

When you liave planted your crop, take your roller 
and roll the ground as hard as you can; after which, 
take your cart and haul a quantity of old hay or straw 
from your barn yard, or leaves from the woods, and 
cover your potato patch all over, about six or eight 
inclies thick. In tlie next place you should haul some 
kind of brush, which will serve to prevent the wind 
from blowing away the hay or leaves. In doing this, 
you not only enhance the value of your land, but your 
potatoes will be protected from the frosts of Winter ; 
and you will have new potatoes on your table from 
one month to six weeks sooner than your neighbor, 
who plants his in the Spring. So soon as the genial 
breeze of Spring returns, and the hard freezing of 
Winter is over, you should have the leaves taken 
from over the potatoes and carried to your cow- 



48 IRISH POTATOES. 

yards, where they will undergo decomposition, and 
be resolved into good manure. Thus the leaves will 
subserve a double purpose. 

The common potato, the Solanum Tuberosum of 
Natural History, was originally found in the woods of 
America, from whence it was carried to Ireland, and 
afterwards to England, where it flourished so well 
that it took the name of Irish potato. Its introduc- 
tion into these countries, w^as about the beginning of 
the Seventeenth Century. There are many species 
of the Irish potato, but it is useless to enumerate them 
here. 

There are a variety of insects, worms, grubs, &c., 
which commit their ravages on the potato; but besides 
these, it is subject to several diseases, among which is 
the curlj which affects the root. Agriculturists have 
long endeavored to account for this disease; some 
thinking it a blight, others that it is caused by frosts, 
after being planted, or by improper planting. The 
disease is divided, by some authors, into three stages. 
First, the half curl^ in which the leaves are long and 
curled. The season must be very good, or the pota- 
toes are small and watery. Second, the full curl, in 
which stage the potatoes scarcely attain the height of 
seven inches; arrive soon at maturity, and soon de- 
cay. The potatoes are of a dark red color, and are 
not so large as a nutmeg. In the third stage, they are 
called corrupted potatoes. In this stage they do not 
appear above the ground, are very small and very 



IRISH POTATOES. 49 

few. After the curl, comes another disease called 
the scab, by which is meant excrescences, and then the 
canker, caused by little cavities, which make their 
appearance in wet weather. These by some, are 
considered to be the cause of the curl, and they be- 
come worse when the potato remains long in the 
earth, after time for harvesting. 

The proper time for digging potatoes is in autumn, 
when the weather is dry, and when the stems and 
leaves begin to decay. If fields are planted in pota- 
toes, they should be ploughed up, taking care to take 
off the coulter of the plough to prevent cutting them. 
When those which are turned up by the plough 
are carried away, a drag may be used to obtain 
those potatoes which remain covered up. But if 
the potatoes are cultivated on a small scale, they 
may be dug with the hoe, or other implement. 

The potato is a great vegetable luxury, and forms 
a great part of the food of the Irish people. Pota- 
toes, when boiled, are excellent food for hogs and 
poultry. The fattest fowls I ever beheld, were fed 
almost exclusively on them. For farm horses, pota- 
toes are very good. Mr. Bradley, in his Notes on 
Husbandry, proves their superiority over Indian 
corn. 

Many modes have been suggested, for preserving 
in winter, this valuable vegetable. The most com- 
mon way, is to deposit them in pits dug in the earth, 

and to cover them first with dry straw, and then with 
5 



5® IBI«H POTATOES. 

earth. They keep in this manner a long time, provi- 
ded they are kept dry. Another plan is, to pile them 
up in the form of a roof, to cover them as before with 
straw and afterwards with earth. There are many 
other modes of preserving potatoes ; these appear to 
me to be the simplest and best. In Pennsylvania, 
they are kept in a vault, under the barn ; but, accord- 
ing to my experience, they become green when laid 
upon a floor, or in any way exposed to the air. They 
should in all cases be kept dry, and as much excluded 
from the atmosphere as possible. Could they be put 
up in jars, and stopped tightly, I have not a doubt but 
that they would keep good for years. It is said that 
they are kept for sea stores, by slicing them, baking 
them slightly, and then packing them down in jars. 
A beautiful starch is made from Irish potatoes, far 
superior to that which is made from wheat. The po- 
tatoes are first rasped, after being peeled, and the 
pulp placed in a cloth and subjected to pressure. 
The juice, which is caught in a basin, is mixed with 
an equal quantity of water, and set away in a shallow 
vessel where it will not be disturbed. In a few hours 
the sediment will be deposited at the bottom of the 
vessel, which to render it beautifully white, should 
be washed two or three times, to free it from the im- 
purities which it may contain. 



ARTICHOKES. 91 



ON ARTICHOKES. 

There are many articles which might be cultivated 
to great advantage by the.iarmer, were there not thaf 
iear existing of going out of the path which their fa- 
thers trod, and of trying new experiments. Among 
the number may be enumerated the artichoke. 

The artichoke is as easily cultivated as the pota- 
to, and the cultivation is the same, with this differ- 
ence, that the artichoke should be planted earlier, the 
latest period being not later than March. It produ- 
ces a beautiful shade, especially the Jerusalem arti- 
choke, under which no weeds will thrive. Nearly 
all animals are fond of it, even more so than of the 
potato when cooked. 

Some culturists have declared, that the potato is 
superior to turnips or beets as food for cattle, and, if 
so, the artichoke is superior to them all ; for, when 
cooked, it is certainly superior to the potato. And 
then the expense of cultivation is only the same; it is 
proof against injury from frost, is more nutritious to an- 
imals, leaves the land clean, and yields from twenty to 
forty per cent, more than potatoes. There is but one 
thing to be opposed to its cultivation, and that is the 
care which is necessary in digging them, it being well 
known that if any are left in the ground, they will 
vegetate the next year. This, however, is no great 
inconvenieace. 



5t GROUND KUTS. 

It is a fact well authenticated, that cattle will eat 
them with greater avidity than the potato, and that 
they will thrive faster upon them. I have seen calves 
eat them without refusal. Then the beauty of the 
matter is the great yield. The experiment being tried 
upon a quarter of an acre, it was found that the arti- 
chokes yielded at the rate of upwards of 600 bush- 
els, whilst the potatoes came out a little more than 
half. In a very dry season, the experiment was again 
tried, and the artichoke gave one hundred and fifty 
bushels, while the potatoes produced nothing. Five 
hundred and seventy bushels were produced in the fol- 
lowing year on an acre. A half acre of the same 
land, highly manured, produced in turnips less than 
three hundred bushels. 

From this it will be seen, that the crop of arti- 
chokes w'as the most plentiful, as well as most profit- 
able; and I would recommend the enterprising far- 
mer to use some of his land in this product, instead 
of reaping a meagre crop of wheat, corn, or other 
grains. 



ON GROUND NUTS. 

Among the many articles to which the farmer 
could turn his attention, there is none which would 
prove more profitable than the cultivation of ground 



GROUND NUTS. p§ 

nuts; or, as they are sometimes called, pea nuts. 
They are of easy cultivation, and require compara- 
tively but little attention. Thousands of bushels are 
imported from the West Indies, and yet they are fre- 
quently so scarce as to sell at from three to four dol- 
lars per bushel. They require a warm sandy soil, 
and there are thousands and thousands of acres in 
Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and other Middle and 
Southern States, which do not produce five dollars in 
value per acre, which might, if cultivated in ground 
puts, bring an amount which would astonish the culti- 
vator. 

Wherever the sweet potato thrives, there also will 
the ground nut flourish luxuriantly; for both grow best 
in a light sandy soil. There is one peculiarity attend- 
ing the cultivation of the ground nut, which is, that 
the nut comes from the blossom, though it grows like 
the potato under ground. This is different from any 
other production with which I am acquainted. 

The ground intended to be planted in ground nuts, 
should be dug up and perfectly mellowed, without a 
tree or any other object to cast a shade upon it, for 
the sun's rays are absolutely necessary. The nuts may 
be planted somewhat like corn, only not so far apart. 
Fut two or three nuts in a hill, and let the hills be 
about eighteen inches or two feet apart each w-ay. 
When the vines run, they will meet and fill the ground. 
They should be planted as early in the Spring as pos- 
sible, to avoid frost; say in April, or the first of May. 



54 MELONS. 

After the vines spread, they reqaire no attention fur- 
ther than to go among them every morning, and with 
a hoe cover up every blossom that is to be seen. For 
convenience, the ground should be in long beds, so 
that the cultivator may walk between them without 
treading on the vines. When all the vines are cover- 
ed, a considerable bed of earth will have been raised 
on the original one, and in this bed, and from the 
blossoms so covered up, will spring a mass of nuts as 
thick together as they can grow. In half a yard 
square of ground, I have raised a peck of very large 
nuts. An acre of ground would produce to the 
amount of several hundred dollars. The nuts are 
much larger and better than those brought from the 
West Indies. 



CULTIVATION OF MELONS. 

As the watermelon is one of the most delicious lux- 
uries of our Summer season, it is proper that all the 
light which experience has gathered concerning its 
cultivation, should be given to the community. There 
is no production of the earth which improves more 
by cultivation than the watermelon. From a small 
worthless article, it may by cultivation be brought to 
a large delicious fruit, frequently weighing from 
twenty to thirty pounds. I shall give the best mode 
of cultivating them with which I am acquainted. 



MELdf^S. 55 

To prepare the ground, holes should be dug about 
one or two feet square, and about as deep, and fill them 
half full of long manure and garden mould, packed 
down hard, and made very wet. The holes should 
then be filled to the top with rich mould, into which 
should be put about a dozeq seed taken from the best 
watermelon. Cover them uiih a layer of well rotted 
manure. Over all put a thin layer of pure sand, 
which should be kept watered. These holes or hills 
should be ten or twelve feet asunder, and when the 
plants have come up and have put forth four or five 
leaves, they should be seperated ; that is, the worst 
plants should be taken out, leaving but three or four 
of the best plants in a hill. The sand mentioned, is 
put over the seed to prevent the ravages of the yellow 
bug, which may be removed and rich earth put in its 
place, so soon as the bug disappears. If the season 
be dry, use water liberally. 

When the plant has put forth six or eight leaves, 
the centre shoot should be taken off, so as to cause 
the vine to spread laterally. The lateral shoots, 
however, should also be taken off, when six or 
eight inches long. This will cause the vine to spread 
still more. A very good plan is, to put some earth 
on a leaf joint about every four feet, taking care not 
to cover up the leaf The joint covered, if well wa- 
tered, will take root ; which will give strength to, and 
cause the vine to spread over the whole ground. No 
male blossoms should on any account be taken off; 
but all improperly formed melons should be thrown 



56 MELOKS. 

away. Let the vine run as far as it will, but if any 
of the lateral branches shew a tendency to turn up, 
they should be extracted ten or twelve inches from the 
main vine. Be particular to suffer no melon to form 
within four feet from the root. One melon only 
should grow on a side branch, and three or four to 
one plaRt. But when the melon has attained near- 
ly its full size, a second series may be suffered to 
grow. 

It is recommended to plant pumpkin seed near the 
melons to attract the bugs; though, of course, they 
should be removed so soon as the bugs are gone. 
Melon seed should never be planted in the neighbor- 
hood of gourds, nor indeed of pumpkins, squashes, 
musk melons, nor any thing of the kind, if it is in- 
tended that they shall fluwer; for the pollen will 
mix, and if hybrid varieties are not produced, the 
melon is injured by the flavor of the gourd, or redu- 
ced in size. 

One thing I would particularly mention, concern- 
ing the preparation of land intended ior melons. If 
it is desirable to have early melons, at least one 
month earlier, the spot of ground should be covered 
by hay, straw, fodder stacks, manure, or something 
else, which will entirely prevent the freezing of the 
ground. Now it requires a month or more in the 
Spring for the frost to get entirely out of the earth, 
and if this plan is pursued, your ground is ready as 
soon as the frosts are over in the Spring. 
By pursuing the plan laid down above, watcrmelon» 



CIDER. 57 

may be had not only earlier, but of the finest and lar- 
gest kind. A little more labor is all the difference 
between this and the common careless mode, but 
the difference in the number and size and flavor of 
the melons will be gieatj and will amply compensate 
the cultivator. 



ON MAKING CIDER. 

When you wish to make your cider to put away 
for Winter, you should cull your apples and have 
them all sound and all of one kind. The trough that 
you grind your apples in should be scrupulously 
clean, and the cask which is to receive your cider 
should be well scalded and then rinsed with cold wa- 
ter. Have the straw clean through which your cider 
runs. Strain the cider through straw, and then through 
flannel. Then pour it into your hogshead or cask, 
which should be put in the cellar. Put into each 
hogshead about three pounds of lard or about five 
pounds of fat pork, stop the bung, and clay it over 
closely. Your cider manufactured in this manner, 
will keep sweet until the next harvest'. Never suffer 
any water to be put in your cider, as it will render it 
flat and stale. 

Inattentive farmers frequently collect their apples 
when wet, and throw them in a pile, exposed to the 



58 CIDER. 

sun and wet weather. This is a miserable practice. 
The whole mass becomes sour, and if delay ensues 
in pressing the pumice, fermentation takes place, a 
small quantity of which juice will spoil a large quan- 
tity. 

The apples should always hang on the trees until 
they are fully ripe, and instead of being threshed off, 
they should be gathered by hand when the weather 
is dry. They should in no case be bruised, or suffer- 
ed to become wet. The} should be assorted, and 
placed in seperate piles, where they should remain 
from eight to ten or twenty days, to sweat. This pro- 
cess improves them, and the length of time they 
should sweat, should be in proportion to the inferior- 
ity of the apples; those of a hard and crude nature 
requiring much longer than the best kinds. The ap- 
ples should be piled where the air will have free ac- 
cess to them, and should any rot, they should be care- 
fully picked out and thrown away, as they give a bit- 
ter disagreeable taste to the cider. 

The apples should, in the next place, be ground, 
and the pumice spread over the trough to take the air, 
by which the cider will acquire a fine color and be 
much improved in flavor. It is asserted by some, 
that the longer the pumice lies thus exposed to the 
air the better, provided fermentation does not take 
place before the operation of pressing is completed. 
" The following experiment," says a sensible author, 
*« will prove this. Bruise a tart apple on one side, 



CIDER. 59 

and let it lie until brown ; then taste the juice of each 
part, and it will be found that the juice of the bruised 
part is sweet and rich: so if sweet and tart apples 
are ground together, and put immediately on the 
press, the liquor which they produce will have the 
taste of both kinds of fruit ; but if permitted to lie 
until the pumice become brown, the cider will be 
greatly improved." 

Some farmers are opposed to pressing cider through 
straw, because they say, the straw when heated in 
the stack gives the cider a bad taste. I have never 
known any such etfect produced, when the straw 
was sweet and clean, and that it should always 
be. 

After the operation of pressing is over, the cider, 
as before observed, should be put into clean, sweet 
casks. When the casks are full, they should be pla- 
ced in the shade, and after fermentation takes place, 
they should be filled up once or more, so as to dis- 
charge as much as possible of the foreign matter from 
the bung. So soon as the white froth makes its ap- 
pearance, the bung should be placed in loosely to 
check gradually the fermentation. After this, in the 
first clear cool weather, the cider should be racked 
off into other casks. 

Some farmers are opposed to the use of fresh meat 
in fining cider, and recommend isinglass jelly. They 
steep the isinglass in white wine, dissolve it over the 
fire, and boil it in some of the cider which is to be 



60 HAY. 

fined. It is a plan with others to dissolve the isin- 
glass over the fire, and steep it several weeks in 
white wine, by which it becomes a jelly. 

Cider should be watched very closely, as a slight 
change in the weather may injure it. Should it be- 
come tart, it is recommended to boil and hull half a 
peck of wheat, and put it into each hogshead. This 
is recommended in preference to animal substan- 
ces, though I must confess, that I never saw any 
evil effects from putting a piece of pork or beef into 
cider. 

During the heat of summer, cider is a very cool- 
ing and wholesome beverage, when properly ferment- 
ed and free from deleterious ingredients. Cider 
which has been kept in leaden vessels, should always 
be avoided ; for when drank, it produces violent co- 
lics and obstipation. It should not even be suffered to 
run through leaden tubes, as from the union of the 
lead with the acid of the fruit, sugar of Icad^ a dead- 
ly poison, is produced; destructive to life if taken in 
any quantities. 



ON THE 

PRODUCTION OF NATURAL HAY. 

I have singularly called this natural hay, because 
the term is used generally to denote any thing out of 
the common order of things. The hay I here re- 



' HAY. 61 

commend, is intended as a substitute, when the far- 
mer has no clover, timothy, or other kind of grass of 
his own raising. When you cut your wild grass, 
you should be sure not to cure it too much. I would 
recommend you to take it the next day after it is cut, 
if the weather is favorable, and have it stacked ; and 
while stacking, to put a layer of hay and then a 
sprinkle of salt, and so on, until you have put away 
the quantity you desire. If the weather should prove 
wet, and you should be disappointed in curing your 
hay, and you should not have enough to serve your 
stock through the winter, I would recommend anoth- 
er mode of preparing and providing yourself with 
another kind of hay, which has seldom been thought 
of; it is equal to the best hay if properly attended to 
and cured. It is the leaves of all trees, of which 
cattle are fond, in a green state. Take the boughs of 
the Lombardy Poplar, of the Maple, and of most of 
the bushes in the woods and branch, while they are 
green ; carry them to a place where they can be cu- 
red and stacked like timothy hay. A ton of this kind 
of hay is worth a ton of timothy, as food for stock. 
Cattle are known to leave green clover to eat the 
leaves of the Mulberry, which can be easily cur- 
ed, and on which cattle will thrive. The experi- 
ment has been tried, and is, therefore, no matter of 
speculation. 

You should not take too many branches off of one 

tree, lest the tree should be injured. The branches 
6 



62 RAY. 

should not be cut until the leaves have acquired their 
full size, for I have seen the stock that were in a clo- 
ver field, and whenever a tree was felled the cattle 
would leave the clover, go to the tree, and eat the 
leaves as high as they could reach. This is a proof 
that the leaves of some trees, particularly the mulber- 
ry and maple, ar^ good food for cattle ; and if they 
are so when green, why not so when cured like clo- 
ver or timothy ? 

Suppose an individual were to remove to a newly 
settled country, and set himself down in the midst of 
the wilderness. He commences clearing the land, 
and while he is falling his timber, if it be in the fall, 
he may collect the limbs and leaves, to secure for his 
horses hay enough to serve them for one year; which 
will be the best of hay, if properly cured and stack- 
ed away. This should be done in the same manner 
in which clover or timothy is cured, and stacked. 
This would be a blessing to thousands of men who go 
to those unsettled countries, and are not aware that 
the leaves of the woods will make hay. A great 
many leaves might be collected in a short time, by 
cutting off the twigs and ends of the branches, and 
even one tree would make considerable provender. 
Nature is kind to those gentlemen who sit themselves 
down in the wild woods, for they are abundantly sup- 
plied with horse food from the trees, without much 
labor. 



I 



TOBACCO. 6 



(>> 



ON TOBACCO. 

The preparation of the ground for tobacco seed is 
very siniple. W the cultivator has ever prepared 
ground for cabbage seed, he has an idea at once how 
it should be done. If the ground is new, brush should 
be burnt upon it for the purpose of cleaning it. To 
avoid burning, some recommend weeding the bed ev- 
ery year, after the crop comes off. 

PLANTING. 

The proper time for planting, is from the last week 
in May to the middle of July. In the first place, 
however, the seed should be sown. As it is uncer- 
tain as to the number of seed which will vegetate, a 
great many more should be sown than will be requir- 
ed; say about half a pint to a piece of land 12 feet 
square. When they come up. it is a custom to rake 
out the superabundance, with a rake made of sharp 
iron points or nails, placed about one-half or three- 
quarters of an inch apart. This rake is carried 
through the plants with an irregular motion, so as not 
to leave them standing in rows. Some do this by 
hand, as cabbage plants are thinned. The proper 
time for this operation is about the beginning or 
middle of May, a little before the time for planting, 
and when the plants are of the size of a fip or half* 
dime. 



64 



TOBACCa. 



From the latter part of May to the middle of July, 
as observed above, is the proper period for planting. 
The plants should be about three inches broad ; strong 
and healthy. They should be set out in hills, some- 
thing in the manner of transplanting cabbages. Like 
these the tobacco plants should be worked, but much 
oftener with the hoe or plough. 

TOPPING. 

This operation takes place in common about the 
middle of August, and some of the crop later. The 
necessity for this is known, or the ripeness of the to- 
bacco is pointed out by its buttoning and blossoming. 
All cultivation now ceases, and the culturist proceeds 
to topping or breaking off the blossoms to a leaf that 
will ripen as soon as the bottom leaves. The top- 
ping and priming should, according to my experience, 
be done high ; for then more leaves will be turned 
out, the number of which should not be less than six- 
teen. The leaves will of course be smaller, but at 
the same time tjiey will be richer and of a finer tex- 
ture. There is another advantage in high topping; 
the leaves wall be higher from the ground, and of 
course more clean, more free from dirt. The leaves, 
though smaller, will be greater in number •, being long- 
er growing, they will be richer, and the smaller size 
of the leaves will give them greater advantages from 
the light and air. 



TCOBACCO. 65 



CUTTING. 

Great loss ensues to the cultivator from performing 
this operation hefore the tobacco is perfectly ripe. 
Twenty-fiye per cent, and even more, is often tobacco 
lessened in value by being cut only a few days before 
the proper time. In cutting too soon, the rich flavor 
is destroyed, the weight is diminished, and the elasti- 
city of the leaf lessened. 

The flavor of tobacco is every thing ; and, there- 
fore, it should not be cut until it is fully ripe. Some 
cultivators say that the whole crop should be cut at 
once, but I cannot agree to this, for I have seen part 
of a field perfectly ripe, another part half ripe, and 
a third portion perfectly green. Now to cut it all 
at once would infallibly ruin a great portion of 
the crop. It should therefore be cut as it ripens. 

The operation of cutting is done with an instru- 
ment resembling a butcher's cleaver. It should lie 
for a while on the field after it is cut, until the leaves 
wither, and there is no danger of breaking from be- 
ing handled. 

HOUSING AND CURING. 

From the field it should be carted to the house for 
curing. Here a peg six inches long is driven into the 
J)Utt, by which it is hung on sticks. Sometimes it is 
split, that is, the stalk is split down almost to the butt, 
fc^ibre h is bTOUght in. This split is placed across 
6* 



66 TOBACCO. 

the sticks, which are placed on standards about five 
or six inches apart, and the plants placed about the 
same distance asunder. Tobacco may be cured eith- 
er by fire or by air, and the proper test of its being 
cured, is the perfect dryness of the stem of the leaf. 
The tobacco house should be close and tight, with 
numerous doors and windows. In houses not prop- 
erly ventilated, the smoke gives a very disagreeable 
bitter taste to the leaves, and a nauseous flavor, which 
the tobacco never loses. 

There are several ways of curing tobacco by fire, 
such as kiln-drying it as plank is dried. Others cut 
a ditch in the floor and arch it with bricks. In one 
end of this the fire is made, the heat from which es- 
capes up into the room, while the smoke is conveyed 
along the arch into the open air. In general the air is 
sufficient to cure tobacco ; yet in wet weather fire is 
necessary. The top leaves of tobacco are always 
the richest and the best. 

STRIPPING. 

Tobacco can never be stripped except in damp or 
moist weather, for it is only then that the leaves can 
be handled without crumbling under the pressure of 
the fingers. After being stripped, it is tied up in bun- 
dles and laid in a pile, when care should be taken 
that it does not ferment. After this, it is straddled 
again, and in moist weather taken down for packing. 
The hogsheads in which it is to be packed, should 



TOBACCO. 6t 

never be made of green wood, or the tobacco will in- 
fallibly be injured. It is said that the acid of the 
wood is more injurious than the dampness. The 
loss is sometimes very considerable to the planter 
from ignorantly using green or damp hogsheads. 

PACKING. 

The process of packing is very simple, and scarce- 
ly needs a description. I shall, however, give it for 
the benefit of those who are not skilled in the matter. 
In Virginia, it is customary to place, in packing, the 
leaves parallel to each other, and never to have more 
than five or six leaves to the bundle. In this way 
they lie regularly in the hogshead, and are easily ta- 
ken out without tangling and tearing. In the Western 
States, it is a bad custom to pack the tobacco in the 
hogsheads in a careless and irregular manner, to the 
great injury of good tobacco. One-half of the va- 
lue and quality of tobacco depends upon the good 
management of it, or in other words upon the cutting, 
curing, packing, &c. 

Tobacco is valued for quantity or quality, and they 
seldom go together. If the soil, like that of the 
Western States, is strong and rich, the tobacco will 
grow luxuriantly, the quantity will be great, and the 
quality inferior. But if the soil be light and sandy, 
the quantity will be small and the quality superior. 
Tobacco is perhaps one of the most troublesome of 
all crops. Unlike other crops, the new seed are put 



feS TOBACCO. 

in the ground before the old crop is disposed of. 
There is no vegetable which has so many enemies. 
Like the silk worm, every insect appears to be its en- 
emy, and yet when tobacco is manufactured, no ani- 
mal will use it besides man, with the single exception 
of the monkey. 

I shall enumerate some of the enemies of the tobac- 
co plant. The most voracious of all is the horn 
worm. Then come the bud worm, the ground worm, 
the web worm. There is also a fly which devours the 
plants while in the bed, and which follows them when 
they are carried to the field. 

The most common method of ridding the plants of 
these enemies, is to pick them off by hand ; but I have 
seen chickens, ducks, turkies, &c., turned into the 
field, where they soon wake war with the enemy. 

It is a historical fact, that in the year 1622, only 
20,000 pounds of tobacco were raised in Virginia. 
In the beginning of the Revolution 100,000,000 of 
pounds for four years were raised, from 1772 to 1775. 
In 1789, the quantity raised was 89,000,000 of lbs. 
The quantity increased until 1815, until which time 
the production of tobacco averaged 82,000 hogs- 
heads, or upwards of 99,000,000 pounds annually. 
In the year 1 834, there were exported from the Unit- 
ed States 87,979 hogsheads of tobacco to different 
ports in Europe, and the exports of tobacco in the 
year 1836 amounted to something more than 12,000,- 
000 of dollars. 



PLOUGHING. 6ft 

From this we see that the tobacco trade is second 
in greatness and value, the exportation of cotton be- 
ing greatest ; it being no less in 1836, than 80,000,- 
000 of dollars. We hear persons speaking against 
the use of tobacco, but they are not aware of the vast 
income from this trade, how much it builds up the in- 
terests of the country, and to how many thousands it 
gives employment. Strike from our exports the ar- 
ticle of tobacco, and what a chasm would there be 
left? How many would be thrown out of employ- 
ment ? How many would be destitute of bread ? 



ON PLOUGHING. 

You should never plough your land at any season 
of the year unless you are compelled by having to 
seed some kind of grain or vegetable ; for the mo- 
ment the soil is broken, you are preparing your land 
for exposure to the sun's rays, and also to the frosts 
of winter. I warn you against any larger plough 
than nine inches, for any kind of grassy land may be 
broken up with a plough of that size, as deep as any 
land should be broken in this part of the country. 
The consequence is, if it is ploughed any deeper than 
six inches, the better part of the soil is turned over 
and sunk, while the yellow dirt is thrown up. When 
this is the case, it will generally require two years 



?0 PLOUGHINO. 

for the soil to rise to the top of the earth again. The 
less you take of the surface at a time, the easier it is 
broken in pieces, and the sooner it is pulverized. 

When you commence ploughing, you should re- 
member to have your double singletree of a length 
to correspond with the plough, or the plough will not 
run well. Your double singletree should be three 
times the length that your plough cuts ; that is, if 
your plough cuts nine inches, your singletree should 
be twenly-seven inches in length from each staple at 
the end. If your plough cuts eight inches, your 
singletree would be twenty-four inches. 

By observing the above directions, your plough 
will run flat and turn the furrow well over. The 
horse in the furrow governs the plough, therefore you 
should never move the clevis at the end of the beam. 
Observe this, and your plough will run steady with- 
out any trouble to the ploughman, and your plough 
will rise up at the end when your horses turn round, 
and will take the proper distance. If there are no 
stones or stumps, the plough will run to the end of 
the row without the ploughman having any necessity 
to touch her. 

The proper test whether a plough runs well or not, 
is to throw her on her side ; and if all is right, she 
will rise and take the proper distance herself. By 
this I have always judged, and it is a perfect test. 

To recapitulate. The New York farmers, who 
are perhaps as good as any in the United States, have, 



FRUIT TREES. "Tit 

I am happy to see, adopted the plan of shallow 
ploughing ;^ believing it to be the proper mode pointed 
out by na^Uire. Reason and experience evidently go 
in favor of it, and that which is proven by experience 
should be immediately adopted. That it will be uni- 
versally adopted, there is not the shadow of a doubt. 



ON THE PRODUCTION OF FRUIT TREES. 

I have been astonished, for a number of years, at 
hearing farmers speaking of raising trees of all kinds 
by the process of grafting scions on other stalks. 
This is not necessary to obtain the kind of fruit de- 
sired. I have come to the firm conclusion that graft- 
ing is not the best mode of obtaining the kind of fruit 
you want, and that it is not the soonest. The manner 
I recommend, is to take those sprouts which grow out 
of the trunk of the tree, at that point where the first 
limbs rise, and are conjoined. These should be cut 
off transversely with a smooth surface, and the ends 
covered with cement, made of beeswax and resin. 
Have your ground ploughed and in good order, and 
then lay off the rows with your plough, about four 
feet apart. Plough the furrows about four or five 
inches deep, and take of the best rotted stable ma- 
nure, and put about two inches in each row. Then 
take those sprouts, and lay them down lengthways 



72 FRUIT TREES. 

in the furrow; one at the end of another. In the 
next place, fill the trenches where you have laid your 
cuttings, with rich mould or loam ; and you will have 
a sprout for every bud on the cuttings. Roots will 
start out from around the buds, and when the trees 
are large enough to plant out, you should lay the cut- 
tings bare, and saw or cut between the buds. Every 
tree will thus have its roots, and will be ready to 
be transplanted or sent to market. By this mode 
you may produce them more rapidly than any other 
. way, and with the perfect assurance that they will 
be of the genuine kind desired. The seed of 
an apple will perhaps bring forth trees of all 
kinds, except the kind you want; but the cutting 
can never bring forth any but the genuine original 
kind. 

In this way the largest and thriftiest fruit trees may 
be obtained. Every other year, those young fruit 
trees should be manured, except the plum and the 
peach ; which require a very light soil. The first, 
if not the second winter, the roots of the young sci- 
ons should be covered with straw to prevent them 
from freezing; and early in the spring, this straw 
should be carefully raked away and carried to the sta- 
ble-yard. 



WOODLANDS. 73 

ON WOODLANDS. 

You should never cut down your timber in the 
spring, when the sap is up in the tree, unless the bark 
is the grand object; as you will injure your land, and 
the timber will not last half so long. You should 
clear your woods of the undergrowth, or bushes and 
briars ; and suffer them not to encumber the ground. 
By doing so, the trees will grow faster and larger. 
Then seed your woods down in clover and herd grass, 
for the purpose of having pasture for your horses, 
cattlg, sheep, and your sows and pigs, while the pigs 
are young. 

If you should have any spare land, which you do 
not intend to cultivate, and improve by my mode of 
cultivation; and you should wish to introduce the 
pine, you must procure some of the seed, put them in 
a barrel full of water, and let them go through the fer- 
mentative process. Then sow them on the land that 
you have set apart, and with your large spike har- 
row, go over the ground, so as to cover them. If 
well done, they will soon come up. Beware of sow- 
ing them too thick, as it will give you the trouble of 
cutting up the superfluous scions. In ten years you 
will have a beautiful woods. 

It appears that all living objects of the creation are 
subject to disease. Trees are no exception, for they 
too have their diseases in great variety ; such as the 



^4 WOODLANDS. 

canker, moss, &c. The health of trees, whether for- 
est or fruit trees, may be much promoted by cutting 
away all diseased and dead parts. Every rotten, hol- 
low, or decaying limb, should be immediately re- 
moved, as soon as observed. And they should not 
be removed only, but they should be cut off until the 
axe comes to the sound wood, the surface of which 
should be left perfectly smooth. Mr. Forsyth, of 
London, gives the following composition, for putting 
on the stumps of limbs which have been amputated. 
To twenty-five gallons of human urine, and a peck of 
lime, mix as much cow dung as will bring it to the 
consistence of paint. This substance should be laid 
on with a brush, about the latter part of March, until 
a sufficient coat is on the stump to protect it from the 
weather. This is said to be effectual, though I have 
never had occasion to use it. 

By properly trimming and cutting away the dis- 
eased parts, trees may be made to last much longer; 
nay, their very existence is often renewed. An acre 
of woodland, properly attended to, is worth two 
acres suffered to run to waste, to languish and die. 
Disease in trees, as well as in the human, destroys 
them, if not arrested by amputation or proper reme- 
dies. 



LIME, 76 

ON LIME AS MANURE. 

Though lime has been used for ages as a manure, 
there are thousands who shut their eyes to the testi- 
mony of the most enlightened nations, and in their 
pretended contempt for " book-farming ^''^ affect to 
know more about the matter than those who are ex- 
perienced and know from practice. I do not believe 
every idle tale concerning the efficacy of lime, nor do 
I believe that it acts on the soil in every respect as 
others believe ; yet there cannot be the shadow of a 
doubt that its proper application ameliorates the soil, 
as was taught by the ancient Roman writers of cele- 
brity. Like marl, lime binds the sandy and renders 
more porous the clayey soil, attracting moisture at the 
same time from the atmosphere. My object, in wri- 
ting upon the subject, is not so much to extol its 
merits as a manure, as to describe its merits in a true 
light. 

There are two kinds of lime used as a manure for 
land. The first is procured by burning 03? ster shells, 
and the second by burning limestone in a kiln. The 
first is by far the best, inasmuch as it is much finer, 
purer, and acts more rapidly on the soil than the oth- 
er. 

The oyster shell lime is adapted to every soil, pro* 
vided the soil is not too low and wet. Lime acts, as be- 
fore observed, by absorbing moisture from the atmos- 



76 LIME. 

phere, and it is^ therefore, reasonable to suppose that 
a wet soil would only reader the linfie a mass of mortar. 
But as was observed of marl, it benefits clayey land 
by opening the pores of the soil, making it friable and 
giving free passage to water and the roots of vegeta- 
bles. Now there is sometimes too great a quantity 
of acid in the soil, and the lime serves a good part by 
neutralizing this acid, and thereby benefitting the 
plants growing therein. 

Lime is beneficial also to sandy and gravelly soils 
by binding their particles together, by which they re- 
tain whatever falls upon them. The heat of the sua 
vaporizes and carries off from sandy soils, the best 
and most nutritious portions of vegetable matters and 
gasses. When the soil is limed, great care should be 
taken that it be covered from the sun, so as to retain 
these juices and gasses. 

Care must be taken how and when lime is applied. 
It is well known that quick lime is caustic, and that 
lime w^ater destroys a plant when thrown upon it. 
But when lime is spread upon land, it unites itself 
chemically with vegetables, becomes a compost, dis- 
solves in water, and in this way becomes nutritious to 
vegetation. 

Land should properly be limed in the summer, say 
in June or July, when the soil is in fallow, by which 
it will be thoroughly incorporated with the soil be- 
fore the sowing of the crop. This should be the 
case, if it is intended that turnips should be sown. 



LIMB. 77 

If the lime is to be spread upon an old field, some 
recommend that it should be applied to the sward 
before the plough enters, or the surface is bro- 
ken. 

Other writers on lime say, that it should be plough- 
ed in a few days before seeding. But if the ground 
be new, they say it should be spread upon the sur- 
face, ploughed under in autumn, and ploughed to the 
surface again in the ensuing spring. I must confess 
that this strikes me as being a very good plan. In 
planting corn, I have not a doubt but that this is 
the very best plan that could be pursued. 

Chemists have demonstrated the positive fact, that 
lime forms a part of the composition of nearly all veg- 
etables, and hence we find that it has been known 
from time immemorial. 

There is a great diversity of opinion with respect 
to the quantity of lime necessary to be spread upon 
a given number of acres. There appears to be no 
certain quantity used in England, varying from two 
to six hundred bushels. My opinion is, that where 
the soil is sandy, the quantity of lime should be in pro- 
portion to the quantity of vegetable matter contained 
therein. In France, they use small quantities, declar- 
ing that from twenty-five to thirtyiushels are sufficient 
at one time. In America, also, the quantity varies 
from sixty to three hundred bushels per acre. Six hun- 
dred bushels have been applied to strong clayey soils, 
but this quantity would be too much for sandy lands. 



78 LIME. 

Whether or not the benefits derived will balance 
the expense of such heavy applications, lam not pre- 
pared to say ; but be this as it may, the shell lime is 
far preferable, and should in all cases be used, though 
not in any such quantities as here spoken of. Indeed 
if my system be correct, no lime is needed, and no 
other artificial manure, unless it be made into a com- 
post, which should be made as follows : 

To make a compost pile, take all the long manure 
you have, and all the vegetable matter that can be 
gathered on the farm, such as leaves, hay, grass from 
the hedges, and what else that may be found, and 
place them in layers in the field, sprinkling on each 
layer a good coat of lime. Let each layer of dung 
and vegetable matter be five or six inches thick, and 
on each alternately or successively spread a good 
coat of lime. When it has risen into a pile, and con- 
tains all the matter you possess, cover it over with 
dirt five or six inches thick, so that the gasses which 
do escape, may be caught and retained in the earth 
on the top, which they will serve to enrich. Heat 
will soon be generated, fermentation will ensue, and 
the vegetable matter be decomposed, or reduced 
to original principles; that state in which the dead 
plant becomes food for the living one. Thus life 
springs out of death and decay, for vegetable matter 
must be not only dead, but rotten, before the living 
plant can derive nourishment from it. The very 
roots of the living, riot in the dead matter of the dead 



MARL. 7^ 

plant, which but last year sprung from the ruins 
of another. Nature continually deals in wonders. 

Many farmers notoriously throw away many re- 
sources, which they might turn to great advantage. 
Does a horse die on the farm, straightway his hide is 
taken off and sold, and the more valuable part drag- 
ged out to feed the " bleaking buzzards of the night," 
as though the carcass were good for nothing. The 
same is performed when an ox, cow, sheep, or any 
other animal dies, or gets killed on the farm. And 
thus they labor, I mean all such injudicious farmers, 
to throw away the very best sources of manure on 
their farms. All dead animals, even to dogs, cats, 
and rats, should be turned to account, by making a 
compost of them with lime. Animal matter makes 
the best of manure, when decomposed or reduced to 
original principles. How many loads of the best ma- 
nure are thus lost every year by injudicious manage- 
ment ! Heaven has placed within our reach all that 
we need, if we will not blindly overlook our advanta- 
ges, and despise the blessings which an all-wise God 
bestows upon us. 



ON MARL. 



Though my system of agriculture is based on the 
fact, that nature will manure the land if kept covered 



80 MARL. 

from the sun ; yet I do not condemn the use of IVIarl 
and other manures, when they can be obtained easily 
and without too much expense. But if marl is to be 
hauled from a distance of 5 or 10 miles, it is better to 
let it remain ; for it costs more than it comes to. I 
advocate marl not as a manure, but as an ingredient 
to improve the texture of the soil ; for there must be 
a soil, or my system cannot be brought into operation. 
Upon naked sand I can do nothing, and therefore I 
recommend the use of marl, as it has a tendency to 
bind together a sandy soil and to render a clayey one 
more porous, by which the rains can be received and 
retained. Clay marl for sandy land, and stone marl 
for a clayey soil should be used. With this neces- 
sary introduction, I shall proceed to speak of the 
subject proposed ; the kinds and nature of marls. 

The component parts of marl are clay, sand and 
calcareous matter. Sometimes two of them are united, 
but chalk or lime in some proportion is always found. 
Clay marls are found of various colors: blue, brown, 
reddish, yellowish white and yellowish grey. The 
blue clay marl is never found in conjunction with sand, 
and the shell marl is not often found combined with 
clay. There is in stone marl sometimes a super- 
abundance of clay and sometimes of sand, though it is 
more frequently sand. As observed before, the sand 
marls, be it shell or shistus, should be put upon clayey 
soils and clay marls on a sandy soil, because in the 
first they render the soil more porous, and in the 



MARL. 81 

second less so. The defect in each is thus remedied. 
Marl has somewhat the appearance of fine clay, 
but of a color considerably lighter, and like clays, 
seems to be- of a greasy consistence ; yet it is not te- 
nacious like clay, but crumbles to pieces between the 
fingeis. It has very little or no smelly and tastes very 
like chalk. It is found in many parts of our widely 
extended country ; sometimes in wet flat lands, and 
at other times under sand banks, by the margin of 
rivers. 

It is difficult to keep vegetable matter in a sandy 
soil, as it gives it up readily, not only to plants, but 
is vaporized and carried off by the heat of the sun's 
rays. Hence it is called a hungry soil, and hence, 
too, I recommend it to be covered by clover or grass 
to protect it from the volatilizing power of the sun. 
All sandy soils need clay and a portion of calcareous 
matter to improve their texture and increase their fer- 
tility. Marl at once answers this purpose, as it con- 
tains both clay and lime. The quantity put on the 
soil should be in proportion to the deficiency of these 
substances in the soil. It is said that the effect of marl 
on the sandy soil will be seen for twenty or thirty 
years. This arises irom, and proves the fact, that the 
earths do not constitute the food of plants, but that 
the soil is only the stomach which digests, or assimi- 
lates the animal and vegetable matter which nourishes 
and enters into the composition of plants. The very 
best soil is that in which the three earths, sand, clay, 



Bt MARL. 

and lime are blended in certain proportions. Wheat 
cannot grow in a soil destitute of, or deficient in, cal- 
careous matter, which is generally more or less the 
case with sandy land. Gypsum, or Plaster of Paris, 
is sometimes used. It is a sulphate of lime, or sulphu- 
ric acid (oil of vitriol) combined with lime. The 
lime binds the sand, and the sulphuric acid is a stimu- 
lus, and serves to attract moisture from the atmos- 
phere, which, when covered, serves to enrich the 
soil. 

Clay lands are denominated cold, because they are 
of a compact, solid texture, resisting more than sand 
the action of the sun's rays. The roots of plants 
cannot penetrate such a soil freely, and like all so- 
lid bodies its temperature is low, being too cold to 
carry on the process necessary to the health and ra- 
pid growth of plants. It is here that the stone or 
sand marl is beneficial, in rendering the soil more po- 
rous, by which heat and moisture are admitted to as- 
sist in digesting the food necessary to the growth of 
the plant. 

It is a very easy matter to distinguish marl from 
mere clay, and also to discover whether it is marl or 
not. Put a piece or a portion pulverized into one of 
the acids, even vinegar, if strong, and if effervescence 
takes place, it is an evidence sufficient that it is marl, 
for clay will not effervesce in any of the acids. The 
effervescence is occasioned by the action of the acid 
on the lime contained in the marl. 



MARL. 83 

How wisely has Nature adapted every thing not 
only to use, but as it respects location, and Providence 
never sutlers them to be discovered until they are 
needed by man. When a country becomes scarce of 
wood, extensive coal mines, as in England, are discov- 
ered ; or peat and turf, as in Ireland. So with re- 
spect to marl. Now it is a fact that beds of clay 
marl, the very substance needed, are generally found 
under sandy soils, and shell and stone marls under 
clayey soils. And how wisely has Nature designed 
it, that every thing which springs from the earth shall 
go back to it, a proof that Providence never intended 
the land to wear out, and it never would but for the 
ignorance and folly of man. All animal and vegeta- 
ble matter that springs from, or exists on the earth, 
undergoes the chymical process of decomposition, 
and is resolved into water and air, in which forms 
they serve to nourish other animals and other vegeta- 
bles, thus almost agreeing with the doctrine of trans- 
migration of souls, held by some of the oriental na- 
tions. 

There is a mode of making artificial marl, which 
is as follows : Place in a pile a layer of good clay, 
and upon it a layer of lime, and so on alternately, un- 
til it rises to a heap; there being equal quantities of 
clay and lime. Let this lie exposed all winter, and 
in the spring spread it upon a light soil and it will be 
beneficial ; but if the soil is a heavy clay, then the 
compositioQ should be lime, sand, and loam. These 



84 MARL. 

mixtures will greatly resemble the true calcareous 
earth, and will repay the labor. 

I spoke above of spreading the marl in the spring, 
but the proper time is in the summer, as the marl is 
then very dry. The farmer, however, can use his 
pleasure, and put it on the land even in winter, when 
he has nothing else to do. 

The ground should be put in proper order before 
the marl is spread upon it. All weeds should be ex- 
terminated, and the ground rendered level by the use 
of the harrow. This is necessary, because then the 
marl may be equally spread over the soil, and have 
an equal effect on every part of it. In the spring it 
should be harrowed into the soil, but with great cau- 
tion ; .as from its weight, it has a tendency to sink too 
deep into the soil, and thus by falling in the furrow 
made by improperly ploughing it in, its virtue is lost, 
and the ignorant farmer condemns it as a valueless sub- 
stance. The great object should be to incorporate the 
marl thoroughly with the soil, so that it shall become 
a part and parcel of it. In its thorough incorporation 
with the soil lies all the benefit ; if it remain upon 
the top, or in the furrow, the effects are but par- 
tial. 

The quantity of marl which should be spread upon 
land is another matter of importance. I would re- 
commend too small a portion rather than too large, 
as it is much more easy to add to than take from. On 
a sandy soil a thick coat may be spread with safety, 



MARL. 85 

as it will tend to bind the land, and cause it to retain 
every thing that falls upon it. On stiff soils a thin 
coat should be spread, sufficient to render it more po- 
rous, by which it may receive and retain whatever 
falls upon it. 

" To find the composition of marl," says the Do- 
mestic Encyclopedia, " pour a few ounces of diluted 
muriatic acid ifito a Florence flask ; place them in a 
scale, and let them be balanced ; then reduce a few oun- 
ces of dry marl into powder; and let this powder be 
carefully and gradually thrown into the flask, until af- 
ter repeated additions, no farther eflervescence is per- 
ceived. Let the remainder of the powdered marl be 
weighed ; by which, the quantity projected will be 
known. Let the balance be then restored. The dif- 
ference of weight between the quantity projected and 
that requisite to restore the balance, will shew the 
weight of air lost during effervescence. [That air 
proceeds from the calcareous earth alone, which con- 
tains 44 per cent, of this carbonic acid air. Suppose 
500 grains of marl lose 44 grains by the escape of air, 
then that marl contained 100 grains, or one-fifth of its 
whole weight of limestone. — T. C] If the loss 
amount to twenty or twenty-five percent, of the quan- 
tity of marl projected, the marl assayed is calcareous 
marl, or marl rich in calcareous earth. Clayey marls, 
or those in which the argillaceous ingredient prevails, 
lose only 8 or 10 per cent, of their weight by this 

treatment, and sandy marls about the same proportion. 
8 



86 MARL. 

The presence of much argillaceous earth may be 
judged by drying the marl, after being washed with 
spirit of salt, when it will harden and form a brick. 

" To determine with still greater precision, the 
quantity of calcareous earth in marl, let the solution 
in muriatic acid be filtered and mixed with a solution 
of carbonate of potash, till no further precipitation 
appear. Let the sediment subside ; wash it w^eil with 
water; lay it on a filter, previously weighed, and dry 
it. The weight of the dry mass will show how much 
carbonate of lime, the quantity of marl, submitted to 
experiment, contained." 

There have been a variety of opinions held at dif- 
ferent periods of the world, concerning the efficacy 
of marl as a manure ; for it is certainly of very an- 
cient date. Lord Bacon defines marl to be the best 
compost in use; having fatness, and being nutritious 
to the earth. An ancient author declares, that a 
piece of land once marled continued fertile eighteen 
years, while Anderson's statement is thirty years, with- 
out further improvement. These are no doubt exag- 
gerations. 

The word marl signifies in its original meaning, 
marrow, or fatness, from the supposition that it impart- 
ed fatness to the earth ; though, as has been shown, it 
acts from binding or opening the pores of the soil, and 
from attracting moisture from the atmosphere. The 
lime has also the power of decomposing vegetable 
and animal substances in the earth. 



HJOR^ES, 87 

ON THE MODE OF 

RAISING AND TRAINING HORSES. 

You should in all cases endeavor in the first place, 
to obtain a good breed of horses; and, particularly, 
you should aim to p^et that kind which is full made, 
and full of action. For breeding mares, choose such 
as will breed after the horse, and then you will find 
no difficulty in obtaining a good stake of horses. 

As soon as your mares have colts, you should com- 
fiience handling them, and so continue on until three 
or four years old. Great care should be taken of 
them. Too much grain should not be given them 
while young, but plenty of good hay, and salt once a 
week, if you do not live near the salt marshes. When 
you commence breaking the colts, you should be very 
gentle with them, and never suffer theni to be storm- 
ed at or abused. Put the bridle on them, let them 
stand two or three hours at a time, auu then lead them 
about the yard several times in a «s!a.y. In the next 
place, the saddle should be put on and girted rather 
tight; again be led about; after which a light boy 
should ride it, while you mount ahorse and ride along 
side. Thus proceed up and down the road together ; 
then put your carriage harness on, and let the colt 
stand about an hour every day. Be sure to girt your 
harness on well, and never suffer the colt to become 
entangled in them. Lead it about, once a day, with the 



88 HORSES. 

harness on; and then put one of your horses in the shafts 
of the carriage, whilst you hitch the colt along sid^, 
with the harness on. Drive them in this way several 
times, then put the colt in the shafts and drive them 
several times, with the old horse at his side. While 
you are on the road, you should have the old horse 
ridden ahead of the young one, and then drive the 
latter by himself. By this process, you will have a 
first rate family horse, gentle and docile. 

That peculiar people, — the Turks, — at Constanti- 
nople, give the following account of the Turkish 
horse. Our own wise people may learn a lesson of 
humanity from their words. " There is no creature 
so gentle and respectful to his master, as the Turkish 
horse. The reason is, they treat their horses with 
great lenity; they make them lovers of mankind, and 
they are so far from kicking, wincing or growing un- 
tractable by this gentle usage, that you will hardly find 
a vicious horse among them." Alas! " our christian 
grooms go on another rate. They never think them 
rightly curried until they thunder at them with their 
voices, and let their clubs or horsewhips dwell on 
their sides. This makes some horses tremble when 
their keeper comes into the stable, so that they hate 
and fear them too. But the Turks love to have their 
horses so gentle, that at the word of command they 
may fall on their knees, and in that position receive 
their riders. They will take up a staff or club on 
the road which their rider has let fall, and hold it up to 



HORSES. 89 

him again. I have seen some horses when their mas- 
ter was falling from the saddle stand still, without mo- 
ving a foot, until he got up again. Once I saw some 
horses when their masters were at dinner, prick up 
their ears to hear their voices ; and when they did so, 
neighed for joy." 

DISEASES OF HORSES. 

I shall add to this work, a short treatise on the 
most frequent diseases to which this noble animal is 
subject. Of all the creatures which an All Wise 
Providence has given to man, the horse is without 
controversy the noblest, the most valuable and useful. 
How necessary, then, that the diseases of so useful a 
creature should be understood ! Yet how melan- 
choly the fact, that in all the Medical Schools of 
America, there has never been- established a veterina- 
ry chair, notwithstanding the warmth with which the 
celebrated Dr. Rush urged the necessity, and the ad- 
vantage. A veterinary chair in the schools of Europe 
is common. Farriery, as well as physic, should be 
taught and studied as a profession. The horse should 
be known from his anatomy to his diseases ; for, next 
to mankind, he ranks in the scale of usefulness. 
Such a knowledge would save thousands of these in- 
dispensable creatures from destruction prematurel}', 
and save thousands of dollars to the ignorant owners 
of them. 

^ In the following short treatise, I shall speak only of 
8* 



90 HORSES. 

the more prominent diseases to which the horse is 
subject; such as colic, botts, distemper, blind staggers, 
scratches, &c. 

COLIC. 

This disease attacks the horse very suddenly, and 
carries off many noble animals ; and, yet, if taken in 
its early stages, it is easily cured. The causes of 
colic in horses are numerous, among which I shall enu- 
merate the following. I have known bad food, such 
as improperly cured hay, to produce it. Horses that 
are warmly clothed and well housed, are attacked 
with it from drinking very cold water. Sometimes it 
is brought on by a draught of cold water, after hav- 
ing travelled rapidly. Again there can be no cause 
apparently assigned, save a sudden loss of tone in the 
stomach or bowels, causing a spasmodic stricture of 
the intestine, and a consequent retention of air. Con- 
fined air is very frequently the cause of this disease. 

The symptoms of this painful disease, are as fol- 
lows : In the beginning, the horse appears uneasy, 
paws the ground, and vainly attempts to evacuate. 
After a while his agony increases, he throws his head 
from side to side, and groans, as if he would tell his 
misery. At length he tumbles down, and rolls over, 
while a profuse sweat breaks out upon him. At in- 
tervals he appears to get better ; he gets up ; but the 
spasm returns, and he suffers still greater agony. 
The pulse remains nearly the same, and no fever is 



HORSES. 91' 

observable. Though sometimes the disease will grad- 
ually abate, without the application of any remedy; 
yet frequently the air continues to accumulate in the 
intestine, until inflammation takes place, or perhaps 
rupture, when the unhappy horse immediately sinks 
and dies. 

A very good remedy in this disease, is a quart of 
gin, in which a small portion of tobacco has been boil- 
ed. Hold the horse's head back, and drench him 
with it. If the pulse becomes quick, three quarts of 
blood should be taken, in order to relieve the spasm 
and prevent inflammation of the intestine. The first 
draught will generally relieve, in the early stage of 
the disease ; but should the misery continue an hour 
or two, repeat the draught of gin and tobacco. If 
this should not be found to answer the purpose, ad- 
minister a pint of castor oil, with an ounce and a half 
of laudanum. The horse, after he gets up, should be 
well rubbed and clothed -with blankets. 

The best manner in which a draught can be admin- 
istered, is by means of" a bottle with a long neck. 
The bottle is introduced into the horse's mouth, as far 
as possible, so that the liquid will run down his throat. 
His head should be elevated high enough to prevent 
him from throwing out the liquid. His tongue must 
be at liberty, in order that he may swallow, that or- 
gan being absolutely necessary to that operation. 



92 HORSES. 



BOTTS. 



According to zoology, botts are nothing more or 
less than a kind of worms, hatched and nourished in 
the alimentary canal of a horse. There are three 
kinds of worms to which horses are liable. These 
are truncheons, mawworms and botts. 

The truncheons are considered most dangerous. 
They derive their name from being short and thick, 
with dark heads. They are found in the stomach 
or maw, through which they eat, and destroy the 
horse. 

The maw-worm is found in the maw, somewhat 
like an earth worm, and of a reddish color. They are 
about three inches in length. 

The bott is found in the great gut. Though a 
small worm, they have a large head. Botts and the 
nitts, may be found in the excrement of the horse, as 
well as in the fundament. 

It is a species of fly which lays the egg of the bott. 
Some authors contend, that the female fly enters the 
anus of the horse and there lays her eggs ; that they 
are hatched by the heat of the parts, and ascend into 
the intestines and stomach. Other authors contend 
that the fly lays her eggs on the hair and legs of the 
horse, and that from the itching, he carries his mouth 
to the spot, gathers them in the saliva, and finally sucks 
them into the mouth, from whence they descend into 
the stomach. These flies are seldom found in cities, 



HORSES. 



93 



and the horses, if kept in stables, are seldom affect- 
ed. 

I have seen these botts, which are large maggots, 
put into strong Nitric Acid, (Aqua Fortis,) through 
which they waded apparently as if it had been water. 
The Sulphuric Acid, (Oil of Vitriol,) was then pour- 
ed upon them, which completely cooked them. 

The bott is of a sinsfular construction. Around 
them are circular rings, and they have prickly feet, 
which enable them to hold on to the part where they 
breed. The rough muscular coats of the stomach are 
well suited to them, for there they cling and suck 
like leeches, until the part looks like a honey- 
comb. They cause convulsions, and often throw the 
horse into great agonies, painful indeed to wit- 
ness. 

It maybe easily discovered, whether ahorse is trou- 
bled with any of these worms, by the following : He 
will strike at his belly with his hind legs, and paw 
the ground with his fore legs. He will turn his head 
to look behind, as if trying to discover the cause of 
his agony. He will also groan like one in misery, 
and roll his restless eyes. 

Botts are not often discovered to be in the stomach 
of the horse, until they have acquired considerable 
size ; and hence they are very dangerous. They are 
not so dangerous in the beginning Of summer, in the 
straight gut, for they often come away in the dung. 
The worst effect is, that they render the horse rest- 



94 HORSES. 

less. The horse suffers most from them in May and 
June, for they seldom disturb him longer than from 
fifteen to twenty-five days at a time. 

From the following symptoms, it may be known 
when the horse is suffering from the truncheon or 
maw-worm. His hair stands out the wrong way, and 
he strikes his hind feet against his belly. He looks 
jaded, becomes lean, and has spasms in the belly. He 
will occasionally after being griped, stretch himself 
on his belly, and then get up to his food. But above 
all, the presence of the worms in the excrement. 

Now to the cure. Calomel, repeated in large 
doses, is an excellent remedy for botts in the stomach. 
After the calomel, an active purge. 

For botts in the straight gut, give the following: 
Savin^ a spoonful ; cut into small pieces, twice a day, 
in moistened meaZ, to which add four or five cloves of 
garlic. 

Perhaps there is no better treatment than the fol- 
lowing : Let the horse be kept from food during 
one day, and at night give him a mixture of molasses 
and milk. This, it is said, will cause the botts to lose 
their hold, and pass off by the bowels. Or bran and 
warm water, in small quantities, may be given. As 
soon as possible, after this, give him a ball made of 
bread and honey ; mix with one scruple of turbith 
mineral and the same quantity of calomel. The next 
evening give him one pint of castor, and half a pint 
of linseed oil. It is supposed that the worms, in their 



HORSES. 95 

eagerness for food, will eat the mercurial mixture, 
which will destroy them, and that the oils will throw 
them off. 

APOPLEXY, OR BLIND STAGGERS. 

This disease, in the brain of the horse, is caused 
by too great an accumulation of blood in that part. 
The symptoms are a want of appetite ; drowsiness ; 
inflamed and watery eyes, and a staggering movement 
of the animal, from which the disease takes its name. 
The head of the suffering creature leans on the man- 
ger; the urine is discharged in small quantities, and 
fever prevails in the system. Sometimes, in the ad- 
vanced stages, he reels about as if blmd, and unable 
to keep his feet or see his way. Sometimes he 
beats his head against the wall, and is struck for- 
cibly to the earth, as if by some invisible power. 

The causes, besides too great fulness of blood in 
the brain, are as follows: Colds, caught by being turn- 
ned out into the field too early, after violent exer- 
tion; high feeding; want of exercise, and by moist 
cobwebs J either taken in through the nose or mouth- 

If the first, or too much blood in the brain, be the 
cause, copious bleeding must be resorted to ; two 
quarts of blood from the neck, and a pint from the 
thigh ; after which administer half a pint of linseed 
oil, the same of castor, forty grains of calomel, sixty 
of jalop, and two ounces tincture of aloes. Give 
the above every morning and evening, and be par- 



96 HORSES. 

ticular to avoid all cold water, as it is very injuri- 
otis. 

If the animal being turned too suddenly to grass af- 
ter great exertion be the cause, it w^ill be proper to 
bleed freely, and with straw to support the head. Al- 
so a clyster of senna and salt should be given, morn- 
ing and evening. The fumes of burning tar passed 
up his nose will be found excellent, inasmuch as the 
disease proceeds from cold. Equal parts of an- 
timony, cinnabar and guiacum, made into doses of 
one ounce, should be given every day for a month. 

If fulness of blood, want of exercise, or high feed- 
ing be the cause, small quantities of blood must be 
frequently taken, and a diet given which will have a 
tendency to open the bowels. 

With respect to cobwebs as a cause of this disease 
very little is known ; and it is useless to say any 
thing further here. 

SCRATCHES OR GREASE. 

This disease is said to be very prevalent among the 
horses of England, owing to the carelessness and bad 
management observed. It arises from excessive la- 
bor, a miry stable, and from suffering the hair to grow 
long on the fetlocks without being cleansed from the 
dung and dirt which collect there. The dirt collects, 
becomes hard and heats the foot, even so as to disease 
the sole. Owing to this, the foot and leg swell, from 
which a matter is thrown out much resembling grease, 



HORSES. 97 

from which the disease derives in part its name. The 
joints become stiff and swollen, and the horse entirely 
lame. 

Let it be forever remembered that, instead of suf- 
fering the hair to grow, as many people believe to be 
an advantage, in preserving the foot from injuries on 
hard roads, it should be kept trimmed and clean. If 
the hair that grows on the part, is the only defence 
against injury from stones or frozen earth, it is a poor 
one, and not worthy the attention of the farrier. 
Such injury bears no comparison to that inflicted by 
the disease. Another thing should be remembered. 
A horse should never be rowelled for this disease, as 
all experience demonstrates the fact, that instead of 
proving a cure, it too often leads to consumption. 

The best remedy for this disease, with which I am 
acquainted, is the following: Clean the part with a 
corn cob, and wash it well with strong soapsuds; af- 
ter which apply a plaster of boiled tar. According 
to my experience, this remedy never fails. The fol- 
lowing is very good in the incipient stages of the dis- 
ease : Four ounces of Venice turpentine, one ounce 
of quicksilver, and grind them until the quicksilver 
disappears; then add mutton suet and honey, each 
two ounces. Anoint the part once or twice a day, 
with this composition. 

But if the horse is of full habit, and the hair turns 

the wrong way, then a more extensive practice must 

be pursued. He must be bled, purged, and altera- 
9 



98 HORSES. 

tives used, to correct the vitiated state of the 
blood. 

Sometimes deep seated sores and cavities are form- 
ed in tlie horse^s heels. In this case, the knife nciust 
be resorted to ; the parts laid open, and one of the 
preparations, above spoken of, applied ; for the ap- 
plication must be made to the bottom, or a cure can- 
not be effected. 

The following is an excellent purge in this disease: 
Two ounces Aloes, three drachms Rhubarb^ two 
drachms Calomel, and oil of aniseed enough to 
make a mass. Divide this into two pills, or balls, 

A pint and a half of Castor oil may be given for 
a purge. 

FOUNDERED. 

This is a disease in the feet of horses, and arises 
from the following causes : First, severe labour ; 
second^ too great a quantity of new grain ; third, hard 
riding; fourth, sudden colds; Jifih, great heats. 
These inflame the blood, and as farriers say, melt the 
grease, which settles into the feet, causing the disease 
above named. Thomas Cooper declares this disease 
to be a species of gout, "produced by permitting the 
animal to eat or drink heartily while hut ; or by vio- 
lent exercise on a full stomach." 

The general mode of treating this disease is to 
bleed first, and if not entirely effectual, cooling salts, 
clysters, and an opening diet to be administered, to 



HORSES. 99 

lessen the rapid circulation. Emollient poultices are 
applied around the hoof, to soften and restore an equal 
perspiration, I have found hot brine bathed over the 
parts to be an excellent external application. The 
horse should be led about immediately after. 

The hard part of the sole should be cleared away, 
in order that the poultice may be applied for the open- 
ing the pores. No greasy application should be made 
under any pretence whatever, as they are all injuri- 
ous. Exercise, as the horse can bear it, is very ben- 
eficial. 

LOSS OF APPETITE. 

It is often the case, as every farmer will readily ac- 
knowledge, that the horse from bad management, or 
ill treatment, will lose his appetite and refuse the choi- 
cest food. The causes are cold, a long journey, too 
great labor, and an exess of food. When this is the 
case, he looks hollow eyed, lean, and his hair dry arid 
frizzy. He appears dull, and has little disposition to 
move. 

Eggshells are an excellent remedy. They should 
be dried before the fire until they are very dry, but 
not scorched; and then powdered in a mortar. Then 
scald some bran and sift the egg shells into it. Give 
the horse a small draught of this two or three times a 
day, and the effect will be very soon visible. It will 
loosen him, and act as a tonic in restoring the lost 
tODe of the stomach. Also, wrap a piece of Assa- 



100 HORSES. 

foetida around the bit of the bridle, and keep the sick 
horse from the society of other horses. I have seen 
wonderful effects produced, in restoring decayed ap- 
petite, by simply tying a small piece of this substance 
round the bit of the bridle, and keeping it in the 
horse's mouth. In a short time he became more live- 
ly and active, and soon showed symptoms of return- 
ing appetite. 

In obstinate cases, it is recommended to take a 
quart of blood from the neck vein, and afterwards to 
administer a purge. Where there is a foulness of 
stomach, it is recommended to diet the horse a few 
days, or one or two days, before giving the purge. 
Let him be one or two hours before, and the same 
time after taking the medicine, without food. 

An excellent purge is the following ; Jalop, one 
drachm ; Aloes, one ounce ; Rhubarb, one drachm ; 
with Castor Oil sufficient to make it into a mass. A 
while after he has taken this, give him gentle exercise 
in the open air. 

SPAVIN. 

There are two grades of this disease, the one call- 
ed the blood spavin, and the other the bone spa- 
vin. 

The blood spavin is a soft swelling, which appears 
on the inside of the hock, some suppose the master 
veini but it is erroneous. A horse afflicted with this 



HORSES. 101 

disease, raises his leg from the ground with a stiff jerk, 
and he appears to have a lame movement. 

The first thing to be done towards a cure, is to cut 
off the hair from the part swollen, and after rubbing, 
with a piece of soap, round the outside of the spavin* 
apply a blister composed as follows : Hogs lard, 
half an ounce; £eesit*aa:, three drachms; Sublimate, 
half a drachm ; and Cantharides , two drachms. 
This generally effects a cure ; if not, repeat the blis- 
ter. Let the blister be spread upon a piece of soft 
white leather, 

BONE SPAVIN. 

The second form of spavin is called bone spavin, 
which consists of a bony excrescence, or hard swell- 
ing on the inside of the hock, a little under the joint, 
somewhat low^er than a blood spavin. It often causes 
lameness just before it makes its appearance, which 
may be discovered by feeling the part, which is hot 
and tender. The same treatment as in blood spa- 
vin. 

A blister should be applied, and repeated as often 
as necessary. But when the disease is of long stand- 
ins:, the cure often becomes difficult. Should this be 
the case, the skin should be irritated with caustic, and 
the day after, the application of a strong blister will 
be necessary. After this, the horse should rest seve- 
ral months. 

I have said thus much on the most common diseases 
9* 



102 cows, 

of the horse, because there are so few who know how 
to treat this noble animal when he lies stretched and 
groaning at their feet. If owners of horses would 
but study superficially these diseases, how many fine 
beasts might be saved from incurable malady, or a 
sudden death ! 



O N TH E 

IMPROVEMENT OF MILCH COWS. 

So soon as you find your heifer becomes very for- 
ward with calf, you should commence feeding her 
with slops or some kind of grain ground, so as to 
make slops ; and that will cauae the heifer to spring 
her bag. About two or three weeks before she has 
her calf, and the same time after, you should give 
her some short corn ; say half a gallon of ears each 
day, which will strengthen her, and she will soon re- 
cover from calving. She should then be fed high, 
and that will make her one of the first rate milch 
cows, and you must continue on to feed with plenty 
of hay and slops during the whole time your cows are 
giving milk. 

When your cow has had her second calf, and it has 
broken and made the bag soft, they should be separ- 
ated. The cow should have but very little slops or hay 
ta-day, as to-morrow i would have her spaid. After 



cows. 103 

this operation is performed, and while she is getting 
well, you should suffer the calf to suck her occasion- 
ally ; but never suffer it to hunch. Your milkmaid 
should, in milking her, strip every drop that she can 
get, as a neglect of this practice has often caused 
cows to go dry. The milkmaid should be very gen- 
tle. The milk may be taken from the cow and giv- 
en to the calf, which should by all means be weaned 
so soon as the cow gets well. 

After the calf is weaned, the cow should be fed 
very high on slops, grass, and hay, which course 
will insure the cow^ to give abundance of milk for ten 
or fifteen years, and generally as much as cows give 
four weeks after having a calf. 

One thing I ivish particularly to mention. All 
COW'S should be housed as carefully as horses are. 
They should have their stables, and their beds made 
in wet and cold weather. A cow kept in a good, 
warm and dry stable, will become fat more easily, 
and her milk will be as rich as yearling's. Another 
thing to be observed is, your cow should be curried 
and rubbed down as regularly and as often as your 
horse ; morning and night will be sufficient. This 
course will render your cow gentle and docile as a 
dog, and two cows thus used will furnish a large fam- 
ily in the country with milk and butter. If your cows 
are good, they will give from two to three gallons at 
a milking ; which will be ten or twelve gallons per 
day. The more pains you take with your stock, the 
finer and larger they will be. 



104 BEEP CATTLE. 



ON RAISING BEEF CATTLE. 

Calves which you wish to grow large, should be 
taken when about two weeks old. Their feed should 
be as follows : Take a small quantity of Indian mush 
made thin, and put into it an e^g^ which has been 
well beaten in a bowl. The egg should be stirred in 
the mush while boiling, and afterward some milk must 
be stirred in the same. This should be given to the calf 
with a spoon, until it learns to drink the mush and 
milk. It should be regularly fed three or four times a 
day, and keep it in or under a dry shed, never suffer- 
ing it to run out until it is a year old, when it should 
be transferred to a small clover lot, and should be 
curried and carded two or three times a day. 

By pursuing this course, you can have your beeves 
at eight years old, to weigh from five to six thousand 
pounds ; which will bring you from two to three 
thousand dollars for each beef. 

To prove what I am going to relate, concerning a 
calf of mine treated in this manner, I shall refer you 
to the inhabitants of Talbot County, Eastern Shore of 
Maryland, at the last cattle show in Maryland in 1 826. 
I took a small runt of a calf, and commenced feeding 
it in the above manner. At the time the cattle show 
came on, my calf was eighteen months old, and 
weighed twelve hundred pounds alive ; and if I had 
continued on until it had been eight years old, what 



HOGS. 



105 



would it not have been m the same ratio ? I say 
it would have weighed six thousand four hundred 
pounds. 

There were two beeves passed through Baltimore 
for Washington city, about the middle of March, 
1838, which were said to weigh four thousand each; 
and both of them sold for three thousand five hundred 
dollars. 

Well, then, my gentle readers, suppose you had 
been keeping twenty head of cattle during the same 
time, in the manner graziers keep them ; and you car- 
ry them to market on the same day, and sell them. 
They will not bring more than twelve or fifteen hun- 
dred dollars. 

Now, my dear reader, is it not better to keep less 
stock and take more pains with them, which will 
bring you double and treble the amount of money ? I 
should say so ; but many have such old fashioned 
habits that they will not retract. Take my advice, 
and depend on it you will not rue it ; for if you will 
count the cost between raising twenty head and two 
head for eight years, I think you will be ready ta 
agree that I am right. 



ON THE RAISING OF HOGS. 

You should take the best breed you can obtain for 
your own interest, which will be those that will fatten 



106 HOGS. 

young; say from ten to fifteen months old. Be sure 
never to keep your hogs over one winter, as they be- 
come expensive when kept longer. Breeding sows 
should be kept in fine order ; and as soon as your sow 
has pigs, and even before, you should commence giv- 
ing her slops, and never sutler your pigs to become 
poor; for a diminution in size is invariably the con- 
sequence. Put them in a pen, so soon as the sow 
weans them. A large pot should be kept to boil po- 
tatoes, pusley, lambs quarter, cabbages, &c. Pump- 
kins, simblens, and all kinds of vegetable matter when 
boiled, will give far more nutritious malter than when 
unboiled. One bushel of potatoes boiled, is equal in 
nutriment to a bushel and a half raw. The above sub- 
stances boiled, should be put into a hogshead, togeth- 
er with some small quantity of bran, and all the meat 
liquor and dish water. Let it stand until fermentation 
takes place, and it becomes sour; for it is then better 
for hogs than when perfectly sweet. 

Keep but few sows that you intend to breed from, 
and as soon as one has pigs, or the next day after, she 
should not have much to eat, for the course of twenty- 
four or thirty-six hours ; and then take three pints of 
meal, and one pint of hogs lard, or the skimmings of 
the pot; to which add one pint of salt; work them 
well up together, and spread it upon a board and bake 
It, as you would bake bread, until nearly done. Give 
it to your sow as hot as she can take it. In one day 
from the time she eats it, she will take the boar ; and 



HOGS. 107 

in due time will prove with pig. Hogs that are in- 
tended for bacon, should never run at large ; for the 
best pork and easiest fattened, is that which is kept 
up in pens. They are fat, while those which run 
out are lean on the same food; and another advantage 
is, that when kept in the stye they are out of the corn 
field, and out of mischief. 

My opinion is, that any man who has from two to 
five hundred acres under cultivation, can kill from six 
to ten thousand pounds of pork annually. This too 
may be done from the offal of the farm, for instance : 
small Irish potatoes, lambs quarter, pusley, pump- 
kins, &c. As soon as your clover is old enough to 
cut, give your hogs a portion every day, and your 
pork will be of the very best kind. 

Your pigs should be trained to go in the pen with 
the sows to eat slops, so soon as they are large enough ; 
and when your sows are about to wean her progeny, 
the pigs should be taught to go into the pen, where 
they should be kept about half their time at first. As 
soon as they become accustomed to confinement, they 
should be put up in a clean pen for good, which pen 
you should be careful to keep clean, particularly in 
warm weather ; for I have seen large hogs, of three 
hundred weight, fall victims to a filthy sty. Besides 
the loss, filthy pens are injurious to health, producing 
fevers and malignant diseases. During the period the 
Cholera raged, the disease was traced in a town, in 
a neighboring State, to a number of filthy pens con- 
tiguous to each other. 



l08 - HOGS. 

Filthy pens cause the holes in the legs of the hogs 
to be stopped, their throats become affected, and they 
fall helpless to the ground and soon die. The only 
remedy is to wash their legs in a tub full of warm 
soap suds, with a stiff brush, and run a knitting nee- 
dle five or six inches up those holes, until they are 
perfectly cleansed. The throat should also be scrub- 
bed wilh the brush; after which, grease the legs and 
throat with tallow, and the hogs will very probably 
recover. 

BEST MODE OF CURING BACON. 

Hogs should never be killed unless in a thriving 
condition ; and if the weather should prove cold, you 
should, when salting your meat for bacon, have all 
your salt heated tolerably hot in a pan. With this 
hot mixture, rub your meat until you bring the grease 
out of it. Pack your hams in a hogshead at the bot- 
tom ; and for every hundred pounds of your shoulders 
and jaws, take one bushel of alum salt ground, or 
boiled salt. Let your pork remain for seven or eight 
days, and then make your pickle to bear an egg. 
For every 1000 pounds put two pounds of saltpetre, 
and one gallon of molasses. Put these in the pickle, 
and then pour it down the side of the cask into the 
meat, and let it remain seven weeks, when you should 
rinse your meat in the pickle, and hang it up in the 
smoke house. The smoke house should be rendered 
as dark as possible, to keep out the flies; for it is from 



SHEEP. 109 

the eggs which they lay in the meat, that the worms 
originate. 

The smoke should be regularly kept up until the 
meat stops dripping ; when it should be slackened. 
This process of curing bacon, I know to be good ; for 
I have tried it many years, and never knew it to fail, 
while my neighbors were complaining every year of 
spoiled bacon. 



O N TH E 

MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP. 

You should endeavor, in purchasing a flock of 
sheep, to get them in good health and sound ; for one 
bad sheep injures the whole flock. Pasture your 
sheep in the dryest pasture you can obtain, which 
should be changed for another of the same kind, 
whenever practicable; and have the sheep penned 
every night in a dry pound well littered, and give 
them some salt once or twice a week. Give them 
about a gill of beans, or corn ; one quart of potatoes, 
turnips or some kind of vegetable matter that will be 
of much nutriment, and that will cause your sheep to 
improve in flesh and wool. This treatment will ren- 
der them gentle and docile ; and in the suDimer you 
should pasture your sheep in the woods, if not too 

thick with undergrowth. Be sure to have some 
10 



110 SHEEP* 

shades round your sheep pen, so that they can retreat 
in wet weather, which will prevent them from tak- 
ing cold, which brings on many disorders among 
them. 

Be particular when you shear your sheep, to put 
them under these shades ; for that is the time when 
they are most injured by taking cold. You should 
pay strict attention when they are about to have lambs, 
and feed the ewes with grain. Sheep should be fed 
in winter with clover hay, which has been salted ; 
and while feeding on this hay you need not give your 
sheep any salt. 

I am of the opinion that you can improve a flock 
of sheep as much in proportion as you can your stock 
of cattle, and we have all seen to what extent cattle 
have been improved. Our common steer will only 
weigh from five to eight hundred pounds, while an 
improved breed passed through Baltimore to Wash* 
ington, one of which weighed four thousand pounds. 
Two of them which passed through in March, 1838, 
weighed four thousand each. Here then, my dear 
readers, you see what improvement can do for cattle ; 
and by the same judicious mode of treatment, your 
sheep may be improved likewise. 



BEES. 1 1 i 

N THE 

MANAGEMENT OF BEES. 

My plan for the management of the honey bee is 
as follows : In winter, the gums should stand in the 
warmest place that can be found ; and in summer, the 
coolest. The gums should be set about three feet 
from the ground, and a sort of house or shed should 
be erected over them ; so as to shade them from the 
sun in summer, and shield them from the blasts of 
winter. The gums should hold about a bushel, and 
when it is necessary to take the honey from them, 
they should be raised up and a cloth spread under 
them. Then turn up the cloth, and tie a cord round 
the gum to prevent the bees from coming out at the 
bottom. The next step is to take off the head of the 
gum, and with a pipe of tobacco blow in the smoke 
at the top, and the bees will settle to the bottom and 
remain there, while you are blowing in the smoke. 
So soon as you take what honey you think proper, 
you should nail on the top again, and the next morn- 
ing take off the cord and the cloth. The bees will 
cheerfully resume their work again, and fill up the 
hive. 

Two or three empty and unoccupied gums should 
always be kept on hand ; and you should watch your 
bees vigilantly, for you may generally tell when they 
are about to swarm. When this takes place, you 



112 BEES. 

should have an iron pan or some sounding body, and 
with an iron bar beat on it, which will cause them to 
pitch. Then take one of the spare gums and rub it 
inside with a mixture of sweet fennel, salt and water, 
or a decoction of hickory leaves, with salt and water ; 
after which set your gum on a clean table, covered 
with a cloth. The wholt; should be placed under the 
limb on which the bees have pitched. Shake the 
limb and they will settle, and run into the gum and 
soon go to work. 

When your gum becomes old, you should kill the 
bees, as they are good for nothing. Should your 
bees fail, on account of the severe and protracted 
winter, or of being robbed too close, they should be 
fed with molasses and water. Never suffer any per- 
son to disturb the gums by thumping against them ; 
for when disturbed, they are very apt to commence 
eating their honey. In England, they destroy the 
bees in robbing them, but this is cruel, besides being 
useless and a considerable loss. 

In a bee hive we behold a representation of a re- 
public, containing from ten to twenty thousand inhab- 
itants. In this republican city, industry is the order 
of the day, and order and equality are every where 
observed. Their houses, or cells in the comb, are 
made of virgin wax, and these not only serve as the 
homes of the young bees, but as receptacles for their 
stores of honey. Between these combs there are 
streets wide enough for two bees to march, and there 
^re also transverse passages or streets. 



BEES. 113 

The working bees compose the most numerous part 
of the republic. To them is entrusted the defence 
of the city ; they bring in the honey ; build the cells, 
and nourish the young. They do all the offices of 
the hive ; they fight against all intruding strangers, 
and, in short, attend to all the concerns of the 
State. 

Drones are distinguished from the working bees by 
their larger size, and by their making more noise 
when on the wing. They die in July, and are 
carried out of the hive by the working bees. 

The bee or apis is a genus of insects, of which 
the mellifica, or common bee, is the most valuable. It 
is very remarkable in their history, that they will not 
remain domesticated amoKg a savage people. Sev- 
eral authors mention the circumstance, that the honey 
bee and the common house fly do not, and will not re- 
side with the North American Indians. 

Bees have their superior officers, whom they follow 
and obey in all cases. When one of these dies, if 
he be at the head of the government, all working ceas- 
es ; the bees are no longer on the wing in quest of 
honey, but the whole city appears to be covered with 
mourning and confusion. The bees are seen through 
a glass hive, some standing in groups as if discussing 
the merits of the deceased, or the order of the fu- 
neral procession ; while others, like guards, are walk- 
ing to and fro before the passage. The funeral pro- 
cession then takes place — the dead dignitary is car- 
lo* 



kl 4 BEES. 

ried in pomp out of the city ; after which, they return 
more briskly to elect a new officer. When the new 
officer is elected, they proceed in the Turkish plaur 
to get rid of all who might attempt to usurp the gov-, 
ernment. Certain bees are appointed to go round 
and strangle all the rest of the royal blood in their 
cells. These curious proceedings have been observ- 
ed through a glass hive. It has been observed that 
the bees invariably return to their labors, as soon as 
their new officer is appointed. 

It is something remarkable, that the bee has two 
stomachs, in one of which is digested the pure honey, 
and in the other the crude wax. 

I shall now speak more fully of the government of 
bees, and the most approved manner of preserving 
them after robbing them. 

An apiary should be situated in a pleasant south di' 
rection. A valley is preferable to a hill, as the bees 
on their return to the hive can descend much more ea- 
sily than ascend when loaded with honey. The hives 
should be situated where there are no bad smells, and 
near a stream of water where they can drink. Wa- 
ter appears to be a necessary ingredient in the produc- 
tion of honey. The hives should be placed in a spot 
surrounded by, or in the neighborhood of flowers and 
shrubby trees, from which the bees may obtain ho- 
jjey, and on which they may settle when they swarm. 



BEES. 115 

BEE HIVES. 

Of all the substances, of which hives are made, and 
they are many, straw has been most generally prefer- 
red. They have been preferred for three reasons. Firsty 
hives made of straw are cheaper than those made of 
wood, glass, or any other material. Second, they 
are warmer in cold weather ; and Third, they are 
cooler in warm weather, than any other hives. 

An ingenious French gentleman recommends the 
floor of the hive to be made of plaster of Paris, and 
the hive a basket work, composed of straw bound- 
with bands made of the internal bark of the lime- 
tree. Over this, he says, should be smeared a full 
coating made of one part ashes and two parts cow- 
dung. Cleanliness appears to be essential to these 
industrious insects, and nothing could better answer 
this purpose than the smooth white plaster of Paris. 
The coating of the hive is said to prevent the entrance 
of noxious insects, while the smell of the straw is 
peculiarly agreeable to the bees. The cover of this 
hive is a broad board, nearly eighteen inches in dia- 
meter. The entrance has a door, which may be 
closed in winter, to keep out all intruders. At the 
bottom of the door are small holes, in the form of a 
half moon, just large enough to permit two bees to 
enter abreast. Above these are other holes, only 
large enough for one bee to enter. The straw wall 
of the liive should be an inch, and the cement half an 



116 BEES. 

inch in thickness. One great advantage attending 
the straw hive, is, that the bees, from their comfort- 
able state during winter, swarm much earlier in the 
spring. There have been many kinds of hives in- 
vented, but it is needless to enumerate them. The 
Egyptian bee hives are made of clay and coal dust, 
blended together, and formed into a hollow cylinder, 
from six to ten feet high. When dried in the sun, in 
the manner of clay bricks, this hive becomes extreme- 
ly hard, and may be carried from place to place with- 
out danger of breaking. It is not uncommon in 
Egypt, for the natives to carry their bees into differ- 
ent parts of the country to procure honey, when from 
the overflowing of the Nile, they can get none at 
home. They start in October and return in Februa- 
ry, after the bees have gathered the sweets of flowers 
through an extent of hundreds of miles, on the banks 
of the dark and turbid Nile. 

Floating bee hives are not uncommon in France. 
They are carried in boats or barges, one of which 
will carry from fifty to a hundred hives. The barge 
is so constructed, that the bees are screened from 
both sun and rain. They float along the river, while 
from the flowers on the banks the bees gather their 
delicious sweets. But bees are not only transported 
from place to place by water, but by land also. 
They are carried in a cart, which contains about fifty 
hives. 

It has not yet, I believe, been ascertained how 



BEES. 1 17 

much cold bees can endure. In extreme northern 
countries they are found in trees. Even in the cold- 
est parts of Russia, they are found in winter, in hol- 
low trees, alive. The hives in Russia, are made of 
bark. In Portugal, bee hives are constructed of the 
rind of the cork tree, in the form of a cylinder, and 
a little more than two feet high, by twelve or fifteen 
inches in height. The inside of these hives is divid- 
ed into three compartments, and the top is covered 
with an earthen pan inverted. 

Bees, as well as the silk worm, have their diseas- 
es; one of which is the diarrhaea, brought on by 
feeding voraciously o'n certain planets, such as the elm 
and milk thistle. It is said that pomegranite seed 
pounded, united with honey and sweet wine, is an ef- 
fectual remedy. Also raisins and rosemary, boiled 
in wine. When hives become infested with insects, 
they should be thoroughly cleansed, and perfumed 
with the leaves of pomegranite. 

Many winged insects are very annoying to bees, 
among which may be mentioned hornets and butter- 
flies. The best plan to destroy hornets, is to place 
basins of water round the hive, into which the hor- 
nets will fly to drink, and will be drowned. Lighted 
candles, it is said, will exterminate the butterflies. 

It is well known that bees often go to war with one 
another ; one hive battling against another. To pre- 
vent this, Dr. Darwin says, a board one inch thick 
should be laid on the bee bench, and so fixed with, 



118 DEES. 

respect to the hive, that the assailing bees will fight 
under great disadvantage. This is an interesting sub- 
ject, and I would refer the reader to larger works on 
the subject. 



AN ESSAY 



N T H E 

CULTIVATION OP THE MULBERRY, 

AND THE 

REARING OF SILK WORMS. 



There can now be but little doubt that the silk cul- 
ture is destined, at no distant day, to become one of 
the grand resources, and silk one of the great staples 
of the United States. A little antecedent to the 
American Revolution, the people of the Colonies 
went heart and hand into the cultivation of silk ; and at 
the instigation of Dr. Franklin, a silk filature was es- 
tablished in Philadelphia. Large trees of the White 
Mulberry, (Morus Alba,) are still standing in Connec- 
ticut and other New England States, which were 
then used for the propagation of that interesting in- 
sect, the silk worm. 

The first account, however, that we have of the 
cultivation of silk in this country, was in the reign of 
King James, who was a great patron of that elegant 
employment; and who granted a certain number of 
acres of land to any settler, or emigrant, who would 



120 CULTIVATION OP 

plant a certain number of Mulberry trees. It is well 
known that the silk worm cannot be profitably prop- 
agated in England, on account of the humidity of the 
climate; and it was for this reason that he was desi- 
rous of introducing the culture into the Colonies. 
England, at the present day, manufactures large 
quantities of the beautiful silk fabrics seen in our 
markets; but the raw material is not produced at 
home, being brought from France and Italy. 

At the period above mentioned, considerable quan- 
tities of silk were cultivated, or produced, in the Uni- 
ted Colonies, until the storm of war arose, and burst 
like a tornado on the devoted head of America. Dur- 
ing that period, in which the torch of civjl war 
flashed through our cities, like the flaming sword of 
the angel at the gates of the garden of Eden, the 
spirit of individual enterprize was paralyzed; all 
eyes were turned to, all hands united in, the defence 
of the country ; and hence, it is not to be wondered 
at, that the silk culture languished, and finally expir- 
ed ; for the few who were exempt from the ranks, 
were required to furnish subsistence for the army and 
the people. 

At the conclusion of the long war, no more was 
thought of silk, or the silk worm, with the exception 
of the inhabitants of a few places in the New England 
States, who have continued the culture, they and their 
posterity, up to the present time. They labored too 
under great disadvantage, having to climb trees from 



THE MULBERRY. 121 

forty to sixty feet in height. They had not the ad- 
vantages which the Chinese Mulberry, (Morus Mul- 
ticaulis) confers, of rapid growth, large leaves, easily 
gathered, and of a superior quality. 

The successful and universal introduction of this 
species of manufacture, as well as culture, will save 
the country from sixteen to twenty millions of dol- 
lars annually in woven fabrics, to say nothing of the 
sewings, refuse silk, &c. It will give employment 
to thousands of children and aged persons, who 
would otherwise be a burthen to their parents, friends, 
or the public. Advance this business, and the inmates 
of alms-houses, particularly, in the country, would so 
far from being a burthen to the county, pay the ex- 
penses of the establishment, and have a surplus. 
Another great advantage would accrue from the uni- 
versal establishment of the silk culture. In many of 
the states, and particularly in Maryland and Dela- 
ware, there is a vast num.ber of acres of land worn 
out and turned out, which might be turned to advan- 
tage, by being planted with the Chinese Mulberry 
trees. Poor land, and particularly a warm sandy soil, 
is peculiarly adapted to the Mulberry ; the leaves are 
more relished by the worm, and contain more nutri- 
ment, as well as more of the resin which forms the 
silk, than leaves produced from a rich soil ; simply be- 
cause the latter are more crude, and from their rapid 
growth less compact in their structure. The leaves 

on a poor soil of course are much smaller; but what 
11 



122 CULTIVATION OF 

they lack in quantity is recompensed by the quality, 
and though more tedious to gather, it will require a 
less number to produce a given quantum of silk. The 
silk will also be stronger, and of a finer, smoother 
texture. 

Our Legislatures are beginning to awake to the in- 
terest of the people and the nation at large, and with a 
liberal hand, worthy the munificence of the greatest 
Republic in the world, are offering a bounty or pre- 
mium for every pound of silk raised or reeled. Con- 
fucius, the great philosopher of China, acknowledged 
and declared, that China was indebted for her great 
wealfli and splendor to the tree called the Morus 
Multicaulis, or Chinese Mulberry. Every incentive 
should be used to stimulate and arouse our people to 
this grand subject ; for I religiously believe, that the 
culture of silk will prove a fountain of wealth to the 
country. There is no country under Heaven better 
calculated for the business than the United States, 
particularly the Middle and Southern states. The 
climate is adapted to the growth of the Mulberry, 
and particularly suited to the nature and instinct of 
the worm. There is every inducement that can pos- 
sibly be offered, for the people of the Middle States 
to engage in this healthful, profitable, pleasing em- 
ployment; and that it is profitable, no one will pre- 
tend to deny. The expenses are not great. A co- 
coonery may be built for, comparatively, a small 
sum, as there is no finish about it, requiring nothing 



THE MULBERRY. 123 

but a bare frame covered over with boards, leaving 
spaces for windows to ventilate the room. These 
windows should be numerous ; with shutters to close 
in damp or cold weather. On the inside should be 
shelves put up, and here ends the items of the cocoon- 
ery. 

The Mulberry (Morus Multicaulis) may be plant- 
ed, say five feet high, this year; and be fed from the 
next. The idea, that the cultivator must wait five or 
six years is erroneous; all that is necessary, is to 
have a sufficient number of them. Having written 
thus much by way of introduction, I shall proceed to 
the Mulberry. 

THE MULBERRY. 

It is universally conceded%by all authors on the sub- 
ject, that the only natural food for the silkworm is the 
Mulberry, though there are a variety of substances 
on which the worm will feed, such as lettuce, black- 
berry leaves, rose leaves, &c. Some recommend the 
culturist to sow a bed of Mulberry seed, as the first 
thing to be done towards the cultivation of silk; 
but I prefer planting the cuttings, if the Chinese 
Mulberry is to be cultivated. The cuttings will 
certainly produce a tree sooner than the seed. The 
seed of the White Mulberry, however, may be 
sown. 

There are many varieties of the Mulberry, spring- 
ing from several species. The best varieties of the 



124 CULTIVATION OP 

tree should be chosen, and the soil most suited to its 
cultivation. 

The varieties of the Mulberry spoken of are as 
follows: First, the White Italian; second, the Tar- 
tarean ; third, the Shining Leaved; fourth, the Dan- 
dolo ; and fifth, the Chinese. The last has three va- 
rieties, viz : the Morus Cucullata, the Morus Multi- 
caulis, and the Perrottet Mulberry. 

Among the varieties of this tree, not suitable as 
food for the silk worm, some authors enumerate the 
Red and Black Mulberry. This is an egregious er- 
ror, for I have fed worms both on the red and the 
black ; and though the worms did not grow quite so 
fast, or so large, yet they spun very compact balls ; 
they reeled well, and proved to be fine, soft and glos- 
sy silk. Those worms fed on the White, grew some- 
what faster, and somewhat larger ; yet the silk pro- 
duced from the red and black was equal, if not supe- 
rior. 

I have not the least doubt but that of all the Mul- 
berry tribe, the Chinese is the best ; both as a food, 
and in the facility of gathering the leaves. Somecul- 
turists believe, that the Chinese Mulberry cannot 
stand the severity of our winters ; but I am of the 
opinion that they can, after the first winter ; for I left 
many out the last winter, and not a single one died, 
though the experiment was tried under very unfavor- 
able circumstances. In all cases, where the Chinese 
Mulberry has been killed by the severity of the cU- 



THE MULBERRY. 125 

mate, the indigenous trees have also fallen victims, 
which goes to prove that it is not so much the 
delicacy of the tree, as the intense severity of the 
weather. 

The culturists of the New England States, recom- 
mend the White Italian Mulberry as a reserve, incase 
the Chinese Mulberry should fail. But I do not be- 
lieve it will fail in the Middle States, and would re- 
commend its cultivation alone, inasmuch as the leaves 
are so large, and it is so easy of propagation. That 
it will soon become acclimated in the United States, 
there can be no doubt; for its tenacity of life is such, 
that it cannot be otherwise. I have frequently 
broken off limbs in the middle of summer, the ends 
of which being covered with rich mould, they have 
taken root and grown. 

Besides the Chinese Mulberry, and the Morus Al- 
ba, there are several other varieties, which are richly 
worth cultivating ; especially when the Chinese, or 
Morus Multicaulis, cannot be had. Among them 
may be enumerated the Tartarean, the Shining Leav- 
ed, and the Dondolo Mulberry; the latter of which 
was found by Count Dondolo, the great Italian silk 
culturist, in the woods of Italy. They all have large 
leaves, are easily propagated, and the worms are ex- 
cessively fond of them. Large quantities of silk may 
also be produced from them. 

There has been much dispute concerning the soil 
best adapted to the Mulberry, to insure a proper 



1^^ CULTIVATION OF 

growth. Some have contended that the Mulberry re- 
quires a dty, warm and sandy soil, while others have 
strenuously contended, that it should have a low, wet 
and rich soil. My experience has taught me that the 
Morus Alba, or White Mulberry, flourishes best in a 
dry, sandy soil ; but I am fully convinced, from am- 
ple experiments, that the Morus Multicaulis is most 
favored by being placed in a damp, rich mould. 
Judge Comstock is of opinion, that any soil which 
will produce Indian corn, is suitable to the last men- 
tioned tree. This is no doubt true ; but at the same 
time, the soil above mentioned, 1 have found from ex- 
perience, to be the very best soil for the Chinese 
Mulberry. It is very true, as Judge Comstock ob- 
serves, that in Italy, Piedmont and France, where 
the growing of silk is carried to a great pitch of per- 
fection, Indian corn is found growing with great vig- 
or, and is used for bread stuffs by the generality of 
people. I think, if my memory serves me rightly, 
that it is in Cambria, in Italy, where the Black Mul- 
berry (Morus Nigra) is universally used as food for 
the worm ; and silk from the leaves of that tree has 
been declared to be much finer and stronger. 

PROPAGATION OF THE MULBERRY,. 

Culturists enumerate six different methods of prop- 
agating the Mulberry. The first is by the seed ; the 
second, by budding or inoculating ; the third, by graft- 
ing 5 the fourth, by cuttings ; and the fifth, and sixth, 
by layers and suckers. 



THE MULBERRY. 12T 

To procure the seedj the fruit should be put into a- 
vessel of water, bruised, and the water and pulp 
should be carefully poured off. The seed that are 
good will sink to the bottom, white those which are 
unripe will float, and should be poured off with the 
pulp. A sheet, or other large cloth, should be spread 
under the tree, and the tree shaken gently, so as to 
detach all that are ripe, without disturbing the unripe 
berries. The berries should be washed as soon as 
possible after being gathered ; for if kept several 
days, fermentation takes place, and destroys the vege- 
tating property. But when it becomes necessary to 
keep the seed, they should be spread upon a board 
and dried in the shade; after which, they should be 
put into a bottle and sealed hermetrically. 

When the time arrives for sowing, and the culturist 
is under the necessity of buying seed, he should be 
careful in the selection, as many cheats have been 
practised by those who vend foreign seed. I would 
recommend those of our own growth, in preference 
to foreign seed ; as the silk growers and manufactur- 
ers of Europe, look with a jealous eye on every at- 
tempt at the silk culture in America. Several kinds 
of seed, such as turnip, have been sold in this country 
fot the genuine Morus Multicaulis. At first, this con- 
duct would appear strange; but when we recollect 
the fact, that if you touch a man's purse you touch 
his soul, we need not be astonished. When the cot- 
ton manufacture was in its infancy, swarms of spies. 



128 CULTIVATION OF 

were sent over to discourage and decrj the efforts 
then being made to establish cotton factories of our 
own. Millions were thus abstracted, or rather detain- 
ed, from the pocket of John Bull, and he was left to 
chew his lip with mortification and disappointed hope. 
The cotton manufacture is now established upon a 
base firm as adamant, and which can never be shaken 
by the arrows of envy, or the shafts of malevolence 
and jealousy. 

The proper time for sowing the seed, is about the 
first of May, but the time may be extended to the 
beginning of September. A bed should be made, 
large or small, according to the quantity to be sown. 
Trenches should be made across the bed, and the 
seed dropped in about two or three inches apart; for 
if planted too closely together, they will smother 
each other and come to naught. When winter ap- 
proaches, the roots of the young trees should be cov- 
ered with straw ; for there alone lies the danger. 
The shoot may be killed to the ground, but it will 
come forth again the next spring, and will grow more 
vigorously than before. Some culturists recommend 
the cutting off all the stalks of the first year's growth, 
and suffer them to come forth anew the next season. 
I am inclined to think this a very good plan, so far as 
my experience and judgment extends. When this ex- 
periment is tried, they should be cut off about two or 
three inches from the ground. 

In dry situations, and in dry weather, the young 



THE MULBERRY. 



129 



plants should be watered every day ; but it should al- 
ways be done before sunrise, or after sunset. They 
should also be carefully hoed, and all weeds destroy- 
ed, 

TRANSPLANTING. 

When the trees in the nursery have grown too thick 
to thrive, they should be transplanted to a lot of 
ground where it is intended they shall remain. It is 
unnecessary to describe particularly the mode of 
transplanting, as the Mulberry is taken up and set in- 
to the earth again, precisely in the manner of other 
trees. Some recommend shortening the tap root ; 
but I do not believe in the doctrine, for if any part of 
the root is cut away, part of the stalk or branches 
should be cut away also. If they are transplanted 
through necessity in midsummer, all the leaves should 
be stripped off; they should be removed in a wet 
season, and shaded when clear, from the sun's rays, 
until the roots take hold, and new leaves put forth. 

The trees may be transplanted when one or two 
years old, and, if intended for standard trees, they 
should be placed about eight feet asunder, one from 
another. There will then be left sufficient room for 
the admission of the plough, and for cultivating the 
ground in potatoes. Mr. Cobb recommends planting 
them at the distance that apple trees are planted from 
one another. 

The young trees should be cultivated with great 



130 CULTIVATION OF 

care for several years, and from the first year, should 
be annually pruned. Mr. Goodrich, President of the 
Hartford County Silk Society, writing upon this sub- 
ject, says — 

" I would begin to prune the trees the first year, 
observing to cut off all sprouts which grow near the 
ground ; no leaves ought to be suffered to grow near- 
er than two or three feet to the ground. The earlier 
you begin to prune, the easier it will be to form good 
trees, and the more rapidly they will grow. 

" The second year I would begin to make silk of 
the Hvigs which are trimmed off. If the trees have 
been properly cultivated from the beginning, I think 
you may make silk enough the second year to pay 
all the expense of making the silk, and of cultivating 
the trees that year. The principal object, however, 
ought to be, not to make silk the second year, but to 
cultivate the trees in the most judicious manner." 

The same author recommends heading down trees, 
from year to year, to avoid the necessity of climbing 
large trees, as at Mansfield, Connecticut, some of 
which are from thirty to forty feet high. He says — 

" I propose to save this labor in a great measure, 
by trimming and heading down the trees from year to 
year, so that they shall not grow more than six or 
eight feet high, and in such a manner that the leaves 
may always be gathered by a person standing on the 
ground . In this manner mulberry leaves are gathered 
in Persia, and in the vicinity of Constantinople." 



THE MULBLRRY. 131 

Cultivating the White Mulberry in hedges, has 
been highly recommended by some ; but I am far 
from being in favor of them, except they are intended 
merely as a fence. The trees, or rather bushes, in 
hedges, are generally very crowded ; and, conse- 
quently, bear very small leaves, which are tedious to 
gather ; and another inconvenience is, that those trees 
are apt to become thorny. 

There are two methods of making hedges; the 
first, by sowing the seed ; and the second, by trans- 
planting the trees as before stated. Judge Comstock 
thinks the hedge the best method of cultivating the 
Mulberry. I shall quote a passage from his work on 
the subject of transplanting. 

" To make a hedge," says the Judge, " by trans- 
planting from the nursery, take plants one or two 
years old, and set them at the distance of eighteen 
inches apart, or, if it is intended to make a thickset 
hedge, at the distance of one foot. Cut off the tops 
at four or six inches from the ground, leaving two 
buds opposite each other, and removing all the rest. 
This causes the stock to have two vigorous branches 
the first year. The next spring, cut one of these two 
branches on the same side, at about twelve inches 
from the ground, in such manner that each plant may 
have a long one and a short one. Cut horizontally on 
the same side, also, one after another, all the branches, 
and fasten them with cords or withes, so that they 
may form a line parallel with the earth, and leave the 



132 CtJLTlVATlON OF 

entire branches untouched. At the commencement of 
the third year, the plants will have branches to form 
a hedge. 

" The height, form, &c. of a hedge, may be regu- 
lated according to the taste of the cultivator, by cut- 
ting off the branches, when covered with leaves, and 
feeding the silkworm upon them. Some cultivators 
are permitting their standard trees to grow up out of 
their hedges at the distance of ten or twelve feet from 
each other. This is doubtless an improvement, as by 
cutting away the hedge, an orchard of standard trees 
would be left, should it ever be found desirable so to 
do. Rails might also be inserted into the standards, 
and a good fence easily made." 

CUTTINGS, LAYERS, &C. 

Having treated upon seed, as one of the modes of 
cultivating, or rather of propagating the Mulberry, I 
shall now proceed to speak of the other methods, 
without, however, observing any particular order, 
taking them as they occur to my mind. 

In propagating the Chinese Mulberry, 1 consider 
the cutting as the best and the surest means of ob- 
taining the genuine Morus Multicaulis. This tree, 
it is said, cannot be propagated from the seed without 
producing hybrid varieties ; as the pollen of the na- 
tive Mulberry, will mix with its own when in blos- 
som, and hence a mongrel class is produced. 

I have some experience in planting the cutting, and 



THE MULBERRY. 133 

have never failed in producing large and thrifty trees; 
many of which grew from seven to eight feet high 
the first season, and put forth limbs of considerable 
size. These limbs I cut off in the ensuing spring, or 
rather in February ; cut them into pieces, each piece 
having on it two buds, all of which were placed in a 
box, covered wdth dirt, and placed in the cellar until 
the time for planting, which, in the Middle States, is 
in April or May. Some cultivators say that they 
should be cut off in the fall, and kept in sand until 
Spring. I have tried this experiment, and nearly all 
of them rotted. They should be taken off the tree 
in the Spring, for then it is seldom that any of them 
will rot. They also grow more vigorously. 

There is another prevalent error among cultiva- 
tors, of planting the cutting perpendicularly in the 
earth, and having an idea that one bud forms the roots 
and the other the trunk. This is a most egregious 
mistake. Each bud has within it the elements of a 
tree, in the same manner that the seed has, and so far 
from the bud producing the roots, the bud sometimes 
rots while the roots are shooting out vigorously. The 
roots are thrown out below, and have no connection 
with the bud, as may be seen by examining one when 
growing. 

As every bud produces a tree, the cutting should be 

planted horizontally, and after the ends have been 

covered with wax of some kind to keep out moisture, 

they should be covered about two or three inches 
12 



134 CULTIVATION OP 

deep, and in rows about eighteen inches or two feet, 
one from another each way. They should always 
have air and light when they begin to rise above the 
earth. Some say a shady location is preferable ; but 
it matters not so they are well watered when the sea- 
son is dry. I would prefer propagating the White 
Mulberry from the seed. 

The second method of propagation which I shall 
treat of, is by layers ; and it is without doubt the ea- 
siest, but I have one objection to its being the best, 
which is, that the buds being so close to each other, 
the trees spring up in clusters ; and those which are 
most forward, soon overshadow and destroy the 
growth of the others. I have tried this method to 
my satisfaction, and what is here related will be found 
true by others. 

The method of making layers, is by bending down 
the branches of a tree and fastening them to the earth 
by wooden prongs stuck down; or by planting the 
tree in a slanting direction, and covering the whole 
tree, save the ends of the branches, to the depth of 
three or four inches with rich mould. Many trees 
are said to have been raised by this method from one 
in a season, Mr. Kenrick states that a gentleman of 
New England produced from two trees, in one season, 
two hundred and two, besides the two original trees. 
This, however, was a rare instance, and can seldom 
be accomplished. 

After the growth of one season, the trees are 



THE MULBERRY. 1 35 

separated by the knife, and transplanted into situations 
where they will have sufficient room to grow. 

Grafting is the third means of propagating the 
Mulberry, and many cultivators are of opinion, that 
the Morus Multicaulis, grafted on the stalk of the 
White Mulberry would stand our winters much 
better. 

The shoulder grafting is, to my judgmejit, the best 
mode. It is performed like splicing two pieces of 
timber together, each piece cut half through from the 
end down to a shoulder, about an inch or two in 
length ; then lashed together with a soft bandage, and 
covered with wax. The operator should be very- 
careful to adjust the two pieces, so that the wood and 
bark of each may come together and admit the ascent 
of the sap. 

In many parts of Europe, and particularly in Italy 
and France, grafting is practised on all, whether 
standard, hedge or dwarf trees. They entertain a 
mistaken idea that grafted trees bear more leaves. 

The fourth species of propagation is denominated 
budding, or inoculating. It is much more easily per- 
formed than grafting, and by many is considered far 
better. The manner of performing this operation, is 
by taking a bud from a scion of the kind you desire, 
and putting it into another tree. An incision should 
be made across the scion about an inch above the bud, 
into the heart; the knife then turned and run down 
an inch below the bud. This should be taken ofF^ 



136 CULTIVATION OF 

and the woody part dexterously cut out from the bark, 
taking care not to destroy the eye of the bud, as it is 
then good for nothing. This being absolutely neces- 
sary, it is easy to tell when the eye of the bud is de- 
stroyed, as a hole will be discovered. 

The next thing to be done, is to prepare the stock 
or limb to receive the bud. This is done by making 
an incision -transversely, and then downwards, about 
an inch or two long, in the form of a T. The bark 
is now carefully pealed up with a thin blade of bone 
or ivory, taking care not to wound the cambium. 
The bud, or rather the bark, to which the bud is at- 
tached, is now to be slipped into the opening made in 
the trunk or limb of the tree, and nicely wrapped 
with soft bandages, observing to leave the bud out. 
A little wax over this will complete the process. 

The fifth mode of propagation is by suckers, which 
are shoots which start up from the roots. In the 
Spring they should be taken up with some roots to 
them and planted out in a favorable situation. Ne- 
glect not to water them. 

THE CHINESE MULBERRY. 

JMorus JMulticaulis. 
J\Iorus Cucullata. 
Perrottet Mulberry. 

Universal opinion appears to concede the palm to 
this Mulberry. It seems to combine in itself all the 



THE MULBERRY. 137 

excellencies of all the species ; the principal of which 
are its rapid growth, its easy cultivation, and large 
leaves, by which so much time and labor are saved. 

In consequence of the great quantity of resin in the 
leaves, more silk is made than from a given quantity 
of leaves from any other Mulberry. 

The Morus Mullicaulis was brought from Manilla, 
in 1821, whither it had been carried by the Chinese 
as a tree of ornament and usefulness. M. Perrottet, 
who obtained these trees, carried only two to France, 
and from them have sprung the millions that are in 
Europe and America. 1 think, if my memory serves 
me, that their introduction into the United States 
was between the years 1830 and 1833. 

It is a tree of extremely rapid growth, attaining fre- 
quently in a season, a height varying from five to ten 
feet. It is of a spongy texture, succulent, and of 
course very susceptible of the influence of cold and 
frost. Many are still in doubt whether it will endure 
our climate ; but for myself, I have not a doubt but 
that it will soon become acclimated. Many distin- 
guished culturists in the United States, have given us 
their experiments upon the best modes of treatment, 
among whom are Mr. Ketarick, Dr. Stebbins, and Mr., 
Davenport, who are fully acquainted with all its pe- 
culiarities, as well as its excellencies. These gen- 
tlemen recommend the following course of treat- 
ment. 

A poor soil must be chosen for the Morus Multi- 
12* 



F38 CULTIVATION OP 

caulis, so that the cultivator may have it in his power 
to make the tree grow rapidly or slowly as he pleases. 
In the early part of the season, by the aid of manure, 
its growth must be forced until the last of July, or 
the first of August, when every stimulus must be with- 
drawn, so as almost entirely to stop its growth. By 
this means, the succulent limbs have time to harden 
before they are nipped by the autumnal frosts. 

From my experience in cultivating the Morus Mul- 
ticaulis in one of the Middle States, this course ap- 
pears to me entirely utinecessary, for I have invaria- 
bly observed that the trees grow very little after the 
beginning of August. • 

The Chinese Mulberry, as observed before, is easi- 
ly propagated by any of the methods described ; but 
I prefer the cutting to any other. The cutting may 
be calculated upon with certainty, as it puis forth its 
roots readily, and grows with great luxuriance. Cul- 
tivators appear to be at variance, with respect to 
propagating this tree from the seed ; some declaring 
that the seed will produce the genuine tree, while oth- 
ers contend that they will not. As observed before, it 
no doubt arises from the mixing of the pollen of two 
varieties, thus producing a hybrid variety, that the 
dispute has sprung. 

The Chinese Mulberry is denominated Morus 
Multicaulis, from the many stalks which annually 
shoot up from the roots, bearing immense quantities of 
foliage. In speaking of the delicacy, and the liability 



TUE MULfiERRV. IS9 

of this tree to be killed by the frosts of winter, 
Judge Comstock observes — 

" We have little doubt of the ultimate acclimation 
of the Chinese Mulberry in this country, and consid- 
er it but of little consequence whether they can or 
cannot be propagated from the seed ; but should it 
finally be compelled to yield to the severity of our 
climate, we should still consider it the most valuable 
variety of the Mulberry for cultivation in this coun- 
try. It is the opinion of the most skilful and experi- 
enced cultivators and culturists, that should the shoots 
of the Chinese Mulberry be destroyed by the frosts 
of every winter, so that nothing could be gathered 
from the plants but the foliage on the annual shoots, 
they would be far preferable to the White Mulberry, 
as more silk could be made from them, than from trees 
of the White eight and ten years old.'^ 

It has been declared by many, that worms fed on 
the leaves of theMorus Multicaulis spin much larger 
cocoons, and that the silk is much stronger; seldom 
breaking in reeling. I have never had a fair oppor- 
tunity to test the truth of this oft-repeated assertion, 
yet I am inclined not to doubt it, knowing that worms 
fed on the White Mulberry produce larger cocoons 
than those fed on the black. 

About the last of October, all trees of one season's 
growth should be taken up, being very particular not 
to break the roots, and also to preserve as many of 
the small fibres as possible ; for they are the mouths 



140 THE SILK WORM. 

through which all aliment is taken into the stomach 
or roots. They should never be drawn up forcibly 
from the earth, as this detaches the ends of the roots 
and the fibres ; but they should be dug with a small 
blunt hoe and with the fingers. 

When out of the earth, the next process is to place 
the roots in boxes, and pack dirt around them, so that 
no spaces are left. Place the boxes in the cellar, and 
examine them once or twice in the winter, and moist- 
en the roots if dry. 



OF THE SILK WORM. 

The silk-worm belongs to a great family of insects, 
genus phalena ; sub genus bombyx ; species^ mor^ 
from Morus the Mulberry. It was first found in the 
woods of China, which consist principally of the 
Mulberry, and the intelligence reaching the ears of 
Her Royal Highness, Shi-ling-Shi, queen of China 
and sister to the moon, she ordered some of the won- 
derful worms to be brought into the palace, where she 
reared them with her own hands, and studied their 
nature, habits, and diseases. The Royal maids, see- 
ing their mistress so pleasantly and amusingly enga- 
ged, soon followed her example, and the worm from a 
tiny insect, grew by the aid of cultivation, to the 
length of three or more inches. 



THE SILK WORM. 141 

To imitate royalty, the people soon became enga- 
ged in rearing the worm, and experimenting upon the 
cocoon, until their amusement resulted in the art of 
reeling silk, and afterwards of weaving it. Beauti- 
ful crimson fabrics were produced, which astonished 
the world ; for so secret were they in the matter, that 
in the time of the Roman Empire, under the Caesars, 
the people of Europe knew not from what, or in what 
manner, silk was procured ; some supposing that it 
was the bark of a tree, others that it was the entrails 
of an insect, &c. 

During many centuries, the silks of China sold at 
an immense price. None but the vastly rich could 
afford to buy them ; for it is recorded of one of the 
Roman Emperors, that he refused his queen a rich 
silk dress on account of the high price, it being worth 
its weight in gold. Even down to a later period, silk 
fabrics were extremly costly. History informs us 
that one of the kings of England borrowed of the 
Earl of Mar a pair of silk hose, giving as an ex- 
cuse, these words : *' Surely ye would not that your 
king should appear as a scrub before strangers !" 
The Royal personage was to attend a party. 

For ages China enjoyed the exclusive privilege 
of cultivating and manufacturing silk. But the day 
of competition came, and her monopoly was at an 
end. Two monks, travelling on a pilgrimage from 
Constantinople, wandered into China; where they 
were well received on account of their religious cha- 



142 THE SILK WORM. 

racier. They took advantage of their privilege, and 
though to carry off any of the silk-worm's eggs they 
knew was death, if detected, one of them concealed 
some of the eggs in the hollow head of his cane. 
Though searched, he escaped with them, and carried 
them safely to Constantinople. The king was pleas- 
ed at the recital of the process of rearing the worm : 
but, unfortunately, the travellers had forgotten to as- 
certain upon what kind of leaves they were fed; 
"whereupon the king offered him a large reward to go 
back to China and discover what tree the leaves were 
taken from, on which the worms were fed. They 
went, and returned with intelligence that it was the 
Mulberry. 

Thus was the silk worm, and the silk culture, in- 
troduced into eastern Europe ; and from that thimble 
full of eggs have sprung the millions, and billions, and 
trillions of worms, which since have toiled to adorn 
the angel form of beauty. When we look at the la- 
bors of a single worm, how insignificant it appears; 
yet how magnificent is the product of congregated 
millions ! Who, that did not know, would suppose 
for a moment, that all the silk in those fabrics which 
grace the limbs of female loveliness, and which are 
used for a thousand other purposes, sprung from the 
labors of a tiny worm ? 

The limits of this work will not admit of my- go- 
ing into detail, and giving a history of the march of 
the silk culture over Europe. Suffice it to say, that 



THE SILK WORM. 143 

it lingered for a long time on the confines of Eastern 
Europe; in Greece and the Grecian Isles; then 
spread into Italy, France, Spain, &c. Italy and 
France have excelled all the countries of Europe in 
the rearing the worm, and in the beauty of silk fa- 
brics. 

REARING THE WORM. 

When the silk-worm first comes forth from the eg^, 
it is a small black insect resembling the tiny black 
ant. Leaves being placed near, they will crawl up- 
on them and commence eating, as fast as they hatch. 
They should be fed three or four times a day, with 
fresh leaves, cut up in small pieces, for the first five 
days, and then oftener as they grow larger. 

At the end of five days the first moulting, or shed- 
ding of the skin takes place, when the worm is a quar- 
ter of an inch in length. It now droops its head, 
ceases to eat, and appears extremely sick. In twen- 
ty-four or thirty-six hours it slips out of its skin, and 
again commences eating. On the eighth day of its 
age, the second moulting takes place, when it is again 
sick and ceases to eat. It is now half an inch in 
length, and begins to assume a lighter colour. The 
third moulting takes place on the thirteenth or four- 
teenth day, and the fourth on the twenty-second or 
twenty-third. The worm now eats ravenously, and 
is two inches in length. In ten days more it acquires 
its full length, ceases to eat, and goes wandering 



144 THE SILK WORM. 

about, with head erect, and leaving fibres of silk on 
every thing it touches. Its back is of a yellow co- 
lor, and the worm is ready to spin. The wext thing to 
be done, is to bring in some oak or hickory branches, 
which have been previously cut, and withered in the 
sun, and place them back of the shelves, or over the 
worms. They will soon climb, and, after finding suit- 
able places, will commence spinning their cocoons. 
Each worm will require four or five days to com- 
plete its cocoon. Five or six days after the last 
worm has commenced spinning, the cocoons may be 
gathered from the bushes. A keen sighted person is 
required to gather the cocoons, or some will be over- 
looked, which are spun in leaves curled up. The 
largest and most firm cocoons should be laid aside 
for seed, and the others should be put into shallow 
baskets and placed in ovens to bake, taking care not 
to scorch the silk. When the chrysalis or worm in 
the cocoon is dead, the cocoons should be taken out 
and spread in the shade to dry, otherwise the va- 
por which arises from the dead chrysalis will ruin the 
silk. 

The cocoons saved for seed should be placed in an 
airy room, where they should remain untouched. In 
about twelve to fourteen days, according to the state 
of the weather, the fly will come forth from the co- 
coon. This is effected by throwing out a fluid, 
which dissolves the gum of the silk, and the legs of 
the fly serve to part the strands of silk until the head 



THE SILK WORM. 145 

projects. So soon as the flies come forth the room 
should be darkened, and the flies placed upon news- 
papers spread upon a table. After copulation, the 
female commences laying her eggs, which vary in 
number from two to five hundred. All those eggs 
which do not change their color within a few hours 
after being laid are unimpregnated, and consequently 
are good for nothing. 

I have given a mere outline of the silk-worm, 
which will be filled up in future pages. When we 
contemplate this interesting insect in all its operations 
and transformations, the mind is irresistibly led up to 
that sublime Being, who has placed before us in the 
transformation of the worm, a complete picture of 
man's redemption. Like man it toils through life and 
plays the glutton ; but more wise than man, it prepares 
for the tomb ; or, in other words, it spins its own 
tomb, the cocoon. In twelve or fourteen days it 
bursts the barrier of the grave, and comes forth 
robed in white, a beautiful butterfly. It labors and 
toils no more, but all is pleasure, all is enjoyment. 
The very instruments or organs with which it labor- 
ed are gone, and a new form is given to enjoy its se- 
cond existence. But in a few days this beautiful 
creature dies, and here ends the simile ; for man shall 
live immortal, " unhurt by the wreck of matter and 

the crush of worlds?' 
13 



146 THE SILK WORM. 

DISEASES OF THE SILK WORM. 

The silk-worm is perhaps the most delicate insect 
in existence. The least injury, wet leaves, or tobac- 
co smoke, is fatal to them. The rest of the caterpil- 
lar tribes, which are a mere pest to mankind, have a 
great tenacity of life ; for I have by way of experi- 
ment, cut the common catterpillar suddenly in two 
with a sharp knife, and one-half crawled with the same 
facility that the whole body did. I have also placed 
them in close confinement, and smoked them with se- 
gar smoke during twenty minutes, without apparently 
the least effect. 

The silkworm is also the most inoffensive creature 
in the world. Nature having made it entirely for 
usefulness, without giving it any means for self-de- 
fence. Yet almost every creature in the creation ap- 
pears to be an enemy to it. Among its enemies may 
be enumerated the cat, rat, mouse, cockroach, ant, 
spider, and many smaller insects, as bird lice. A gen- 
tleman in Pennsylvania had a whole crop of worms 
destroyed by lice, which fell from pigeons' nests 
above them. I had a very large silk-worm, which 
commenced spinning late in the evening, and to my 
great astonishment next morning, a spider had wound 
its threads around the worm and hoisted it up an inch 
or two above its cocoon. I examined it, and found it 
dead. Mice are extremely fond of the eggs, as well 
as the worms. I have known a whole crop of worms 



\ 



THE SILK WORM. 147 

destroyed by mice. Wishing to cross the breed of 
two species of the silk-worm, I placed two flies on a 
table near a window, which opened on a shed. In a 
few hours I returned and found them literally eaten 
up by large black ants. From the delicate texture of 
the worm, it must be a sweet morsel to those rav- 
enous animals and insects which live by plunder. 

The silk-worm is subject to six diseases, which 
frequently prove fatal to thousands of their race. 
The first disease I shall treat of is the Ltisette. 

They are generally attacked in the fifth age by 
this disease. It generally arises from want of atten- 
tion, and a scanty supply of proper food. When af- 
fected by it, the body of this worm has a shining ap- 
pearance, and the head becomes much enlarged. The 
stomach on dissection is found full of a transparent 
fluid. The proper remedy is to seperate the infected 
from the sound worms, and give them a full supply of 
fresh leaves. They should, however, not be fed 
to the full immediately, but the leaves given in 
small parcels at first; otherwise, a disease pre- 
cisely the reverse will be the consequence. 

The next disease is denominated the Grasserie, 
the reverse of the former. This disease is brought 
on by feeding the worms too liberally on young and 
tender leaves. The period at which they are most li- 
able to it is in the third and fourth ages, when they 
begin to eat voraciously. Affected with this disease, 
the worm becomes dyspeptic, appears dull, while its 



148 THE SILK WORM. 

body becomes short and thin. The body swells, 
turns a green colour, and becomes opaque. The 
slightest touch will break the skin, which is covered 
with a greasy humor. The remedy is plainly point- 
ed out, which is a reduction of food, and that which 
is not so nourishing. 

The Tripes is another, and the third disease, to 
which this useful insect is liable. It is caused by the 
stench which arises from the litter on the shelves, and 
want of general cleanliness and ventilation. Worms 
thus afflicted become soft and wrinkled, and look 
when dead, like the living worm. I have seen them 
become putrid fifteen or twenty minutes after death, 
and so rotten that when taken up with a stick they 
would not hold together, but fall to pieces. Worms 
in this country are more subject to this disease than 
any other, though a little precaution would prevent it. 
Chloride of lime, dissolved in water, and set in the 
cocoonery, will destroy all noxious exhalations. The 
floor should be sprinkled with the solution, especially 
in hot weather, when it is dangerous to sprinkle with 
water alone, on account of the vapor which arises. 
Nothing is more injurious to worms than wet leaves 
and a damp atmosphere. I have seen hundreds die 
from both these causes. Whenever the worms prove 
to be sick, they should "be immediately conveyed 
away where the air is pure and dry ; for one sick 
worm will infect hundreds. 

The Yellows is the fourth disease, and is brought 



THE SILK WORM. 149 

on by placing the worms in a room too warm, and 
where the heat is too sudden. It generally attacks 
the worms in the fifth age, near or about the time 
they ascend to spin. When attacked by this disease, 
the body swells and changes to a yellow color, from 
which circumstance the disease takes its name. The 
feet of the worm appear drawn up, and the rings be- 
come enlarged. The worm refuses to eat, goes wan- 
dering about, and stains every thing yellow it touch- 
es. After this the body becomes soft and soon 
bursts, throwing out a fluid which is death to those 
worms upon which it may fall. It is certainly by far 
the most fatal disease that the poor worm has to con- 
tend against. The diseased worms should be imme- 
diately attended to, and conveyed away to another 
apartment. Change of air and increase of heat are 
said to relieve some worms, but no remedy is to be 
depended upon; for there is no disease which proves 
so deadly as this. The great object is to prevent the 
spreading of the disease. Judge Comstock mentions 
a case, where worms were cured of this disease hj 
accidentally eating oak leaves. 

The Muscardine is known among the worms in the 
fifth age. It is occasioned by a very hot, dry and 
close state of the air, and is known by the black spots 
on different parts of the worm, which turn different 
colors afterwards, until the whole body becomes co- 
lored. A curious mould covers the body finally, and 

it dies. Ventilation and purification are the remedies.. 
13* 



J 50 THE SILK WORM. 

The Passis^ the last disease to which the silk- worm 
is subject, is occasioned by too much heat in the ear- 
ly state. The body in this disease becomes thin, and 
the appetite destroyed. The only thing necessary, 
is to remove the diseased worms, ventilate the room, 
and feed temperately with young leaves. 

COCOON LRY. 

All that is requisite in building a cocoonery, is to 
have a house capable of being well ventilated, or 
closed up, so as to exclude moisture, wind and cold. 
Many persons use barns, sheds and rooms in their 
dwellings, which being fitted up with shelves, answer 
the purpose very well. In some parts of Turkey, a 
room or rooms are always appropriated to this pur- 
pose in their dwellings. 

In furnishing cocooneries, Mr. Cobb gives the fol- 
lowing directions: '^ I have used three tiers of rough 
pine boards, fixed upon upright posts, about four feet 
in width, one above the other, with a space between 
of two and a half feet, affording room sufficient to 
pass all around the frame, so that I could reach any 
part of it. In making the shelves, it is well to have 
the lowest one six inches broader than the one above 
it, and to make the same difterence in the shelves 
above, so as to break the fall of such worms as happen 
to tumble down." Mr. Cobb describes another me- 
thod as follows : 

" It is about two and a half feet wide, by five or six 



M 



THE SILK WORM. 151 

long, made of thin boards, with a piece two inches 
wide, nailed flat on the upper edge along the sides 
and ends, with legs about a foot long in the corners. 
The legs do not pass through the table, but leave a 
part of the hole on the upper side for the feet of 
another table to set in. Thus contrived, five or six 
of these tables are set one above another, and are ta- 
ken down, cleansed, and again set up with facility. 
One of these shelves will accommodate five or six 
hundred worms." I have always followed the plan 
of covering the shelves with newspapers, and Mr. 
Cobb recommends the same. 

Having planted the Mulberry, and built the co- 
coonery, the next process is to hatch the eggs. The 
Italian process of hatching the eggs is calculated to 
embarrass the American silk grower, but be it known 
that it is entirely useless in this country, as Nature 
generally accomplishes that part about the first of 
May, in the Middle States. Mr. Rhind describes 
the Italian process, as follows: 

" The temperature of the chamber near the place 
where the eggs are put, should be 63 J degrees; this 
is obtained by increasing the fire, should the temper- 
ature be less; and by opening the ventilator, and even 
the door should it be greater. This temperature 
should be observed two consecutive days. On the 
third day, the temperature is raised to 66 ; on the 
fourth to 68 ; on the fifth to 70 ; on the eighth to 77; 
on the ninth to 79; and on the tenth, eleventh, and 
twelfth, to 81 degrees." 



152 THE SILK WORM. 

How different is this from the process in our own 
country ! Here, all that is necessary, is to bring the 
eggs from the cellar, place them in a south window, 
taking care that the sun does not shine upon them, 
and they will hatch in a few days. 

The time for hatching is various, as are the cli- 
mates of our widely extended country. In the Mid- 
dle States, the first of May is the usual time, though 
the matter must be governed by the putting forth of 
the Mulberry leaf. In New England they are not 
hatched until the latter part of May or first of June, 
while in the South, April is the usual month. A very 
good plan for hatching and feeding is to place the eggs 
on the table, and place over them a paper pierced 
full of holes, through which the worms can ascend 
and fix on the small, tender leaves which are placed 
on top of the paper. Some culturists peal off" the 
eggs from the paper before they hatch, but I do not 
coincide with this plan. The worms require some- 
thing to fasten their feet to, and when the eggs are 
glued fast to the paper, they have the power of draw- 
ing themselves from the egg shells. 

One thing should be particularly observed. The 
worms which hatch on the first day, should be placed 
to themselves; those hatched on the second, to them- 
selves, fyc. By this means each lot will moult or shed 
their skins about the same time, and be ready to spia 
about the same time. You are then not under the 
necessity of feeding some while others are moultingpo 



' THE SILK WORM. 153 

So soon as the worms are hatched and on the 
leaves, they should be carried to the cocoonery and 
placed on the shelves. Three or four times a day 
will be often enough to feed them during the first age. 
Young and tender leaves chopped, should be given; 
because the worm almost invariably fixes upon the 
edge of the leaf. This is owing to the organic struc- 
ture of the mouth, and when the leaves are chopped, 
the worms are not under the necessity of eating 
through the leaf No wet or wilted leaves must in 
any case be given, as they are sure to produce disease. 
The leaves should be kept in a cool cellar or milk- 
house ; I have kept them thus for three, four and five 
days. Feed not too liberally at first, as the litter in- 
creases, covers up some of the worms, and they are 
apt to be thrown out with it. The leaves from young 
trees are better than those from older ones, during 
the first and second ages. Great cleanliness should 
be observed, particularly in warm weather, and to 
remove the litter. All that is necessary is to place 
fresh leaves on one corner of the table, and thus 
tempt the worms there, when the refuse matter may 
be swept off. 

When the worms arrive at the third age, they may 
be fed with unchopped leaves from the full grown 
tree. Frequent cleaning must now be practised, and 
all diseased worms instantly removed, least they 
should infect others. If proper attention is paid to 
cleanliness and to ventilation, very few or no worm3 



154 THE SILK WORM. 

will die from disease. Damp or wilted leaves, want 
of pure air and space, and want of cleanliness, are 
the great causes of disease in the silk-worm. All 
means should be used to prevent insects and mice, 
ants, cockroaches, &c. from ascending to the shelves, 
as they will destroy many during one night. Lemon 
juice on the shelves is said to prevent the approach of * 
ants. 

Sufficient room must in all cases be allowed the 
worms, as much of their growth and product depends 
upon it. In the first age, they will require compara- 
tively but little ; but as they advance in age and size, 
they will necessarily require more room. Mr. Cobb 
has laid down the space which is required in every 
age of the worm. He says, *' It is calculated the 
worms proceeding from an ounce of eggs (40,000) 
should have space as follows : 

sq. feet, inches. 

In the first age, 7 4 

In the second age, 14 8 

In the third age, 34 10 

In the fourth age, 83 6 

In the fifth age, 183 4" 

No certain rule, however, can be be laid down, 
and the culturist can alone come at the matter by ex- 
perience. 

The quantity of food eaten by a given number of 
worms is astonishing and almost incredible; and 
equally so the quantity of silk which they produce. 



THE SILK Worm. 155 

Many culturists have attempted to ascertain the 
weight in each case. M. Bonafous informs us, that 
7217 pounds of leaves were required to feed 200,000 
worms. Count de Hazzi says that 200,000 worms 
will destroy 10,000 pounds of leaves, as follows : 

lbs. 
In the first age, 50 

In the second age, 150 
In the third age, 460 
In the fourth age, 1390 
In the fifth age, 7950 
Count Dondolo thinks that twenty-one pounds of 
leaves will make one pound of cocoons. 

Congress published a manual in 1838, respecting 
the quantity of food required each day of the silk- 
worm's existence. I shall give a few extracts, though 
I have not the least faith in such systematic rules. 
The number of worms is 180,000. 
" I St day. — Three pounds and three quarters of chop- 
ped leaves, six hours between each of four meals, 
the smallest quantity at first, and increasing the quan- 
tum. 

" 2d day. — On this day, about six pounds will be 
needed, chopped very small. This will suffice for 
the four regular meals, the first of which should be 
the least, increasing them as they proceed, as was 
done in the meals of the first day. 

''3d day. — This day twelve pounds of soft leaves, 
chopped very small, will be required for the fear 
meals. The worms will now feed with avidity. 



156 THE SILK WORM. 

** 4th day. — Six pounds twelve ounces of chopped 
leaves should be given. For the quantity should be 
diminished as the appetite increases. The first meal 
should be of about two pounds four ounces, and the 
other meals should decrease in proportion as the 
quantity of leaves given before, appears not to have 
been thoroughly eaten. 

" 5th day. — This day, one pound and a half of 
young leaves, chopped small, will be about sufficient. 
They should be scattered very lightly several times 
in the day, on the sheets of paper, where there ap- 
pears still to be worms feeding. Should the worms 
have left off feeding, it would be unnecessary to 
distribute any further quantity. Towards the end 
of the day, the worms are torpid ; a few begin to re- 
vive. 

" 6th day. — For this day will be needed nine 
pounds of tender shoots, and nine pounds of ten- 
der leaves of the Mulberry, well picked and chopped 
small. 

"7th day. — Thirty pounds of chopped leaves will 
be required to-day. This quantity divided into four 
portions, should be given at intervals of six hours, 
the two first meals less plentiful than the two remain- 
ing. 

" 8th day. — Thirty-three pounds of fine chopped 
leaves, well picked, will be necessary, and this time 
the two first meals should be the largest. 

" 9th day. — This day only nine pounds of picked 



THE SILK WORM. 157 

leaves, chopped small, will be required. The worms 
sink into torpor, and the next day they will have cast 
their skins. 

" 10th day. — This day fifteen pounds of the small 
shoots will be necessary, and equally as much of 
the picked leaves, chopped rather less than hith- 
erto. 

" 11th day. — This day ninety pounds of leaves, 
chopped, will be needed. The two first meals, the 
least copious, because towards the close of the day, 
the worms grow voraciously hungry. 

" 12th day. — This day there should be given nine- 
ty-seven pounds of picked leaves, chopped and divid- 
ed into four meals — the three first meals most plenti- 
ful. Towards evening the hunger of the worm 
decreases ; consequently the last should be the least 
meal. 

'* 13th day. — This day, about fifty-two pounds and 
a half chopped leaves, will be sufficient. The de- 
crease of food is in consequence of the diminution of 
appetite. They should have four meals, the largest 
first ; and the last the least meal. Those only that 
seem to require it should be fed. 

^' 14th day. — Twenty-seven pounds of picked 
leaves will be required ; if not enough, more may be 
added ; if too much, less given. 

'^ 15th day. — The worms begin to rouse, and thus 

accomplish the third age. The general view of this 

age presents the following result. In six days the 
14 



158 THE SILK WORM. 

worm goes through its third age. In this age, those 
worms proceeding from five ounces of eggs, have 
consumed nearly three hundred pounds of leaves and 
young shoots. 

" 16th day. — On this day, thirty-seven and a half 
pounds of leaves and young shoots will be needed, 
coarsely chopped with a large blade. 

" 17th day. — For this day will be wanted one 
hundred and sixty-five pounds of sorted leaves, a 
little cut. The two first meals ought to be the light- 
est. 

" 18th day. — For this day will be needed two 
hundred and twenty-five pounds of sorted leaves, a 
little cut. The two first meals the most plentiful ; 
the last to be about seventy-five pounds. 

"19th day. — This day the distribution of the cut 
leaves should be two hundred and fifty-five pounds ; 
the three first meals of about seventy-five pounds 
each — the fourth of forty-five pounds only. 

" 20th day. — No more than one hundred and 
twenty-eight pounds of picked leaves will be need- 
ed this day ; because the hunger of the worm dimin- 
ishes much. The first meal should be most consid- 
erable. 

"21st day. — Thirty-five pounds of picked leaves, 
are enough for this day. It is easy to find out when, 
and in what quantities, the worms need most their 
food. 

" 22d day.-^The worms rouse on this day, and ac* 



THE SILK WORM. 159 

a 

complish their fourth age. In about seven days tliey 
have accomplished their fourth moulting, and cast 
their skins. They have consumed in that period, 
two hundred and seven pounds of leaves for each 
ounce of eggs, or 40,000 worms. 

"23d day. — Since the preceding day, almost all the 
worms must have accomplished their fourth moulting, 
and be already roused. The worms proceeding from 
one ounce of eggs, in the fifth age, consume about 
one thousand and ninety-eight pounds of sorted, pick- 
ed leaves, which makes the quantity of leaves requi- 
site for the five ounces, to be five thousand four hun- 
dred and ninety pounds weight. 

" 24th day. — For this day will be wanted two hun- 
dred and seventy pounds of sorted leaves, divided in- 
to four meals ; the first of which should be the least, 
of about fifty-two pounds ; and the last most plenti- 
ful, of ninety-seven pounds. 

" 25th day. — This day the worms will require 
about four hundred and twenty pounds of sorted 
leaves. The first feed of seventy-seven pounds; the 
last should be the largest, and of about one hundred 
and twenty pounds. 

" 26th day. — This day the worms will want five 
hundred and forty pounds of sorted leaves. The first 
feed should be of one hundred and twenty pounds, and 
the last of one hundred and fifty. 

"27th day. — The worms will require this day 
eight hundred and ten pounds of sorted leaves. The 



160 THE SILK WORM. 

first feed of one hundred and fifty pounds, and the last 
of two hundred and ten pounds. 

" 28th day. — This day the worms should have 
nine hundred and seventy-five pounds of picked 
leaves, divided into five feeds, the last the largest. 

" 29th day. — The worms will require this day, 
nine hundred pounds of well sorted leaves. The 
first meal should be the largest, and those following 
should diminish. Should there be any intermediate 
meals wanted, they must be given as before, 

" 30th day. — The worms this day must have six 
hundred and sixty pounds of well sorted leaves. 
The proportion of leaves must diminish, as the ap- 
petite of the worms decreases much. The food 
must, as usual, be divided into four messes. The 
largest meal given first, and gradually diminishing. 
The first meal should be two hundred and ten 
pounds. 

•^^ 31st day. — The worms this day need four hun- 
dred and ninety-five pounds of leaves, which must 
be distributed as it may be wanted. 

" 32d day. — This last day they attain perfection, 
which may be ascertained by the following direc- 
tions : — 

"1st. When on putting some leaves on the wick- 
ers, the insects get upon the leaves without eating 
them, and rear their heads as if in search of some- 
thing else. 

<* 2d. When, on looking at them horizontally, the 



THE SILK WORM. 161 

light shines through them, and they appear of a whi- 
tish yellow transparent color. 

" 3d. When numbers of the worms, which were 
fastened to the inside of the edges of the wickers, 
and straightened, now get upon the edges, and move 
slowly along, instinct urging them to seek change of 
place. 

" 4th. When numbers of worms leave the centre 
of the wickers and try to reach the edges, and crawl 
up upon them. 

'' 5th. When their rings draw in, and their green- 
ish white color changes to a deep golden hue. 

<' 6th. When their skins become wrinkled about 
the neck, and their bodies have more softness to the 
touch than heretofore, and feel like soft dough. 

" 7th. When, in taking a worm in the hand and 
looking through it, the whole body has assumed the 
transparency of a ripe yellow plum. When these 
signs appear in any of the worms, every thing 
should be prepared for their rising, so that those 
worms which are ready to rise may not lose their 
strength and silk in seeking for the support they re- 
quire." 

The above are the rules of European cultivators, 
but I do not believe in the theory ; for however well 
it may succeed in feeding worms on this plan in Eu- 
rope, it cannot be observed in America. I have rais- 
ed as large worms as were ever produced in Europe 

or America, some of them being from three inches 
14* 



1G2 THE SILK WORM. 

and a half to three and three quarters in length; 
they were not the mammoth worm. I am in favor of 
chopping the leaves, as the worms invariably fix up- 
on the edge ; but I do not see any need of sorting, ex- 
cept it be in the first, and perhaps the second age. 
In the fourth and fifth ages, when the worms are 
large and vigorous, there is no necessity even for 
chopping the leaves, as the worms will readily devour 
them. 

ASCENSION OF THE WORM. 

Branches of hickory or oak should be procured, 
and the leaves withered in the sun, that they may be 
ready when the worms cease to eat, and prepare to 
ascend. These branches should either be suspended 
over them, or placed on the back part of the shelves, 
in such a manner that the worms may crawl upon 
them without difficulty. When the branches are pla- 
ced on the shelves green, the leaves contract while the 
worms are spinning, and interfere with their labors. 
Some worms will wander about, wasting their silk*, 
these should be placed upon the branches. In three 
or four days after the last worms have ascended, 
the cocoons may be gathered from the bushes. 

The only thing to be observed in gathering the co- 
coons is, not to press them too tightly in the hand, 
but to give them a gentle rolling motion, by which 
they will be easily and cleanly detached from the 
leaves. When they are all gathered,, they should not 



THE SILK WORM. 163 

be suffered to remain in the basket, but should be im- 
mediately baked in shallow baskets in an oven, stir- 
ring them and taking care that they are not scorched. 
They should then be spread upon tables or shelves in 
an airy situation, and turned over every day. Every 
thing depends upon curing the cocoons well ; for if 
they are suffered to lie in piles they mould, and a mois- 
ture is thrown out which gives them a bad odor, and 
they are not worth reeling. A great quantity of co- 
coons has been ruined by not attending to this neces- 
sary and indispensable part of the business. When 
improperly cured, the cocoons reel with great diffi- 
culty. 

With respect to stifling the worm, various modes 
are in use. Some recommend their being placed in 
the sun two or three hot days ; but it appears to me, 
this is an uncertain method. The next method is the 
oven, which I have mentioned, and which I think is 
the best. Mr. Cobb says — ''I have used the first 
method with success. The oven being moderately 
heated, the cocoons were spread out in oblong bas- 
kets, eight inches deep, in box covers, pans, &c. and 
permitted to remain in the oven half an hour." 

Some recommend the steam of boiling water, and 
.others the vapor of hot spirits of wine or alcohol. 
Many other modes are recommended, but I prefer ba- 
king them in an oven. 



104 THE SILK WORM. 

SEED. 

Always choose the largest and firmest cocoons for 
seed. The floss should be taken off, and the cocoons 
spread upon a table covered with newspapers. The 
room should be darkened and cool. In from twelve 
to fifteen days, according to the warmth of the wea- 
ther, the flies will come forth. The males and fe- 
males will commence copulating, and should not be 
disturbed. The male moth is known from the female 
by being much smaller ; and from the constant mo- 
tion of its wings, as it sweeps with an airy circle 
round the female. The female will lay from two to 
five hundred eggs ; and one hundred female moths it 
is computed, will produce an ounce of eggs, or forty 
thousand worms. The eggs adhere to the paper, and 
should be rolled up and put in some place secure 
from mice and other creatures which are fond of 
them. It is a mistaken notion that they must be kept 
where they will not freeze. I have known eggs to 
remain all winter on a window pane, where they were 
laid, without the least injury. In the spring, they 
may be placed in a cellar or ice-house until the Mul- 
berry puts forth its leaves; but generally this is not 
necessary, as the same warmth that hatches the eggs, 
will bring forth the leaves. Nature is seldom remiss 
in her duty, timing all things with beautiful regulari- 
ty- 



THE SILK WORM. 165 



OTHER KINDS OF FOOD. 



Though it is universally acknowledged that the 
Mulberry is the food designed by Nature for the 
worm, attempts have been made to substitute some 
other kind, which might be produced with more fa- 
cility than thcs Mulberry. There are many kinds of 
leaves upon which the silk-worm will live, among 
which are lettuce, and the leaves of the hop, hemp, 
dandelion, rose and fig, and some say the blackberry. 
The leaves of the currant are also spoken of. But I 
do not believe these leaves will answer any other pur- 
pose than to keep the worms alive until the proper 
food can be obtained, for there is a resinous matter 
in the leaf of the Mulberry, which forms the silk. 
In the Cabinet Cyclopedia will be found a letter 
from a lady, who says — " In the summer of 1785, 1 
subsisted several thousand worms entirely on lettuce 
leaves during three weeks, and for the remaining 
short period of their lives I afforded them their na- 
tural food. At the end of a month from their hatch- 
ing they began to spin, and eleven ounces of silk 
were procured from four thousand cocoons." This 
lady believed that they could not be fed longer on 
lettuce than three weeks, for on trial she found that 
but very few spun at all. 

The same lady informs us, that she fed worms on 
blackberry leaves, and that they ate the leaves of the 
elm with great avidity. She also found that they ate 



166 THE SILK WORM. 

the leaves and flowers of the primrose and cowslip. 
She afterwards gave them the Mulberry leaves, which 
as soon as they had tasted, they refused all others. 
She declares that the worm will not touch any flow- 
er of a red color. Mademoiselle Coge tells us, that 
she fed worms on the viper grass, and that the 
silk was equal to any produced from the natural 
food. 

I consider lettuce the best substitute for the Mul- 
berry, but I do not believe that worms can be reared 
on it to any profit. Indeed it is useless to look for a 
substitute so long as the Mulberry is so easily culti- 
vated. 

REPEATED CROPS. 

Culturists are fully of the opinion, that two, and 
even more crops of silk may be raised in a season, 
and experience seems to go to prove it. In some 
parts of Italy, two crops are raised from the white 
worm, called the two crop worm. This worm w^ill 
finish its cocoon, come forth, lay its eggs, and then 
those eggs will hatch, thus producing two crops. 

There is no doubt but that the two crop system is 
profitable, and a very good plan would be this: If 
you wish to raise two hundred thousand in a season, 
bring up from the cellar fifty thousand, and hatch 
them. The week after, bring up fifty thousand more ; 
and the next week fifty thousand more, until all are 
hatched. Now when the last parcel is hatched, the 



THE SILK WORM. 167 

first will begin to spin ; and when the last are a week 
old, the second lot of worms will ascend; so that 
there would not be that trouble which would attend 
cultivating the whole number hatched at one time, be- 
cause many of them would be small, and the number 
would be continually decreasing, as they ascended to 
spin. By having the eggs in an ice-house, they can 
be kept back at pleasure. 

It has been a notion with some culturists, that the 
silk-worm will degenerate, as BufFon has said of the 
American people. I am one of those who entertain 
the belief, that by choosing bad cocoons for seed, and 
by bad management, the worms will become deterio- 
rated ; and, on the contrary, when good seed are cho- 
sen, and the worms well attended, the breed may be 
improved vastly. 

I have now treated of the cultivation of the Mul- 
berry, and the rearing of worms ; I shall next pro- 
ceed to treat of the art of reeling silk for the manu- 
facturer. Much of the profit of the silk culture de- 
pends upon reeling well ; and, therefore, the reeler 
should apply him or herself to acquiring the art 
thoroughly. Some persons have an idea that it is an 
extremely difficult art to learn, but attention and per- 
severance will soon overcome all obstacles. Practice 
is all that is requisite. In a iew trials the author of 
this learned to reel, and made some sewing silk which 
was as even and beautiful as any from the reels of It- 
aly. There could be no more beautiful employment 



168 SILK. 



for our ladies than this, and the day is not far distant 
when we shall not point to an isolated lady as a good 
reeler, but when there will be hundreds, and perhaps 
thousands, who will reap a rich subsistence from 
it. 



SILK. 



ART OF REELING SILK. 



The first thing to be done towards reeling silk, is 
to obtain a good reel, and there are a number in use 
besides the Piedmontese, among which are those of 
Mr. Smith of Baltimore, Mr. Gay of Lisbon, and 
Mr. Cobb of Dedham. I have myself used Mr. 
Cobb's reel, and found it answered the purpose very 
well. It is made in the following manner : A frame 
of pine three feet six inches in length, and two feet 
in width, the height of which is three feet. There 
is a bar at the front end which traverses with a later- 
al motion of five inches, and on this bar, which is two 
feet five inches in length, the eyes are fixed through 
which the threads pass, and by the transversing of 
which the silk is scattered on the reel. On the back 
end of the frame is placed the reel, with a wheel on 
each end of the axle. On the right side of the front 
end of the frame, is a large wheel eleven inches in di- 



SILK. 169 

ameter, which is used to set the reel in motion by 
means of a band, which passes from it round the 
smaller wheel on one end of the axle. On the other 
front side of the reel is a horizontal wheel, with a 
band which passes from it to the wheel on the other 
end of the axle of the reel. There is a moveable 
wire attached to the horizontal w^heel, and also to the 
transversing bar, which causes it to traverse every 
time the wheel turns round. 

I have attempted to describe the reel merely for 
the gratification of the reader, as it will always be 
cheaper to buy the reel than to make it. They can 
be had at almost any of the variety stores, or stores 
where Mulberry seed and cocoons are bought and 
sold. 

Having obtained a good reel, the next thing to be 
done is to sort the cocoons. Some cultnrists divide 
them into five different qualities, though I never found 
it necessary to make more than two or three parcels, 
choosing the most firm and fine cocoons to make the 
best silk. The qualities are as follows ; First, the 
fine cocoons, are those which have a very smooth, 
close and fine grain. Second, the chiques or skins, are 
soft and easily compressed under the fingers. Thirdy 
the demi fine, which have a large, flimsy grain. 
Fourth, the double cocoons, are those which are uni- 
ted ; or those in which two or more worms have spun 
together. These can seldom or never be reeled. 
Fifth, the satin cocoons, which are the worst of alL 
15 



170 SILK. 

The next process is to pick the cocoons, or take 
off the floss, which is sometimes done by children. 
Other reelers run the floss off" after the cocoons are 
placed in the water. The water in the basin or pot 
should be soft, such as rain water, and heated to 
about 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Experience, howev- 
er, is necessary to ascertain the temperature required, 
as different qualities of cocoons require different de- 
grees of heat in the water. Generally, the water 
should be nearly to boiling heat, and kept so by means 
of a furnace under the pot or basin. If the water is 
too cold, the thread will not run freely ; but will catch 
and draw up to the red; and if too hot, the silk will 
come off in flakes, which will ruin the even texture 
of the fabric or sewing iilk. A brisker fire or a lit- 
tle cold water will remedy defects. 

The water being of the proper temperature, a dou- 
ble hand full of cocoons arc thrown into the pot or ba- 
sin and stirred with a stick split at the ends, or with 
a broom corn wisp, which will catch the floating 
fibres ; and if the cocoons have been picked before, 
these fibres may be immediately attached to the reel 
as fast as found. If the floss has not been previously 
taken off, it may be run off after catching up the end. 
When the silk begins to run smoothly and evenly, it 
may be broken off; the one end fastened to the reel, 
and the other, which is floss, may be laid aside among 
the refuse silk. When a sufficient number of the 
fibres are obtained, they should be united, and passed 



SILK. 171 

through the guides and fastened to an arm of the reel. 
The ingenious machinest of Lisbon, Connecticut, 
Mr. Gay, who is now disseminating information on 
the silk culture through the Middle States, has in- 
vented a machine, which takes the silk from the co- 
coon, and immediately wnnds it on spools, thus saving 
the trouble and time of reeling, and then taking the 
silk from the reel to the spools. His machine has a 
fly wheel to it, which fans and dries the silk before it 
reaches the spool. 

On Mr. Cobb's reel, two skeins can be reeled at the 
same time. At the first the reel should be turned 
with a slow and regular motion, until it is found that 
the silk runs well, when the reel may be turned ra- 
pidly. As fast as the cocoons run off, or the thread 
breaks, new ones must be attached, which is done 
simply by placing the fibre smoothly along side of 
the others, and giving it a gentle twist with the wet 
fingers. Some recommend crossing the threads, but 
according to my experience this is not a good plan. 
The cocoons after being wound off in part, and the 
chrysalis of those that are entirely unwound should 
be taken out of the water ; otherwise there is a like- 
lihood of the silk being stained. So soon as there is 
discovered the least tinge in the water, it should be 
changed. 

It would be useless to go any further into a detail 
of th« art of reeling silk. I might write a dozen fo- 
lios on the subject, and still practice would be neces- 



1 72 SILK. 

sary to give the reeler an adequate idea of the pro^^ 
cess. A few hours speat in reeling will teach more 
than volumes, which only describe it. Let not the 
person despair, for the art may be acquired in a few 
days, and even in a few hours. 

Silk, when taken from the reel, is called raw silk, 
because it is not manufactured. There are three 
qualities, enumerated in proportion to fineness, or by 
the fibres taken from a certain number af cocoons. 
This is the reeler's business. 

It is not only necessary to be particular in reeling 
silk, but also in every thing appertaining to the busi- 
ness. Care is necessary in disbanding silk from the 
reel, as its fibres are subject to different degrees of 
tension. Hence the necessity of sorting the cocoons 
well. They should all be of one kind; that is, all 
that are reeled in one lot. If part are of the 
fine or demi fine^ all of them should be. There are 
other causes, however, to which the different degrees 
of tension is owing. Some of the cocoons are long- 
er in tlie water than others, and the slender last ends 
of some are united with the strong first ends of other 
cocoons. It is, therefore, certain that some of the 
fibres will stretch much more readily than others. 

The skein of silk should in all cases remain on the 
reel several hours, or even a day when convenient; 
by which it will become thoroughly dry. I have no 
doubt but that Mr. Gay's machine is best calculated 
to take silk from the cocoon, to say nothing of the 



SILK, 173 

saving in time and trouble. As was observed before, 
it takes the silk immediately from the cocoon to the 
spools; the fibre is dried before it reaches the spool, 
and consequently cannot stick to those upon which it 
is laid. The unequal contractioH of the fibres cannot 
take place on the small circumference of the spool, as 
is the case on the reel . 

When the skein is perfectly dry on the reel, it 
should be gathered up in a mass with the fingers, 
loosened from the bars, and after being taken off, it 
should be tied with shreds of refuse silk in all those 
places where it rested on the bars of the reel. It 
should be tied, however, before it is taken from the 
reel. Double it then and tie it near each end. A 
piece of folded paper should be fastened to the end of 
the thread to prevent it from being lost in the skein, 
which sometimes happens, and gives considerable 
trouble to find it. 

DIFFERENT KINDS OF SILK. 

There are different kinds of silk, of which I shall 
give a description in the language of Mr. D'Homer- 
gue, an experienced culturist and reeler. He ob- 
serves, "In winding off* the silk from the cocoons, 
whether perfect or imperfect, the finest and best 
threads are not those which are first spun ; on the 
contrary the first threads which come off" the cocoons 
are coarse, uneven, and unfit for use in the silk manu- 
factories, either of the stuff's, twist or sewing silk. 
15* 



174 SILK. 

This loose, furzy substance, which is about one-tenth 
part of the whole silk on the cocoon, is called in 
French fleuret, and in English floss, from the Latin 
flos, flower ; a name which reminds us of lucas a 
non hicendo. As soon as the threads of the silk in 
the process of reeling come out fine and regular, this 
floss is seperated from them and put aside for use, as 
will be presently mentioned. To it are added all the 
threads which, either from some defect in the cocoons, 
or from the awkwardness of the women employed in 
the different operations of reeling, winding, and 
doubling, either break off" so as not to be easily uni- , 
ted to the other threads, or come out uneven, or oth- -^ 
erwise unfit for use ; these are called the waste silk, 
and added to the floss, assume with it the same name. 
This mass, boiled in soap and water, afterwards 
carded and spun on the spinning wheel, takes the name ji 
in French of bourre de soi or filoselle. Boyer, in his 
dictionary, translates the word filoselle into English 
by ferret silk or flurt silk. This last name is evi- 
dently a corruption, or an English pronunciation of 
the French word fleuret, floss silk. 

" This floss, ferret, or flurt silk, by whatever 
name it may be called, is employed in making silk 
stockings, mittens, gloves, suspenders, night caps, and 
in general, all kinds of silk hosiery. I have heard 
that the women of Connecticut knit silk stockings 
and mittens out of the silk which they extract from 
the cocoons. 



8ILK:. 175 

"Thus nothing is lost of the precious material 
produced by the silk-worm. I mean by those who 
understand the art of employing it. Otherwise, all 
experiments by those who are unskilled in the bu- 
siness, cannot but be attended with consi derable 
loss. 

" There are then, six different kinds of silk, ex- 
tracted from the cocoons by processes of various 
kinds, or which vary more or less from each other in 
the manner of using them, and all which require not 
only skill and dexterity, but knowledge acquired by 
long practice. I shall recapitulate them in their or- 
der, according to their degrees of fineness. 

1. Silk of the first quality, or singles. 

2. Silk of the second quality, or organzine. 

3. Silk of the third quality, or tram silk. 

4. Sewing silk of the first and second quality. 

5. Cordonnet, or twist of ditto. 

6. Filoselle, or floss silk." 

The utmost economy must be practised in reeling 
silk, if the culturist would reap the full profit of the 
business. No particle of silk, however small, should 
be thrown away, but on the contrary all should be 
saved, and added to the mass of refuse silk. As the 
culturist who does not reel his silk, but sells the co- 
coons loses a great part of the profits, so he who 
reels and does not save all the particles of waste 
silkj loses in like manner much of the profits. 



176 SILKL. 



PREPARING SILK. 



Preparatory to being dyed, silk should be cleans- 
ed. As spun by the worm, silk contains several 
substances. First, colouring matter; second, gum; 
third, wax; and fourth, an oil resembling in its nature 
the essential oils of vegetables. The gum is of a 
iriable texture, and appears of a reddish yellow co- 
lor. Silk, when analyzed, is found to contain 23 to 
25 per cent, of gum — it is soluble in water. The 
wax is of a harder texture and very brittle, but is 
never found in a proportion of more than one per 
cent ; oftentimes less. The proportion of coloring 
matter is very small. 

While these substances are in the silk, it is stiff and 
unpliable, and the process of extracting them is call- 
ed preparing or cleansing silk. Whenever it is in- 
tended to be dyed, the silk is boiled and afterward 
gummed, the gum having an affinity for the dye. But 
when the silk is to remain white, it is simply boiled 
and the gumming omitted. 

To ungum silk, many skeins should be united to- 
gether, so that they may not tangle in the process. 
These are put into strong suds. From fifteen to 
twenty pounds of soap (some use thirty) are required 
for every hundred pounds of silk. The soap should 
be thoroughly dissolved in water, over a gentle fire, 
and the temperature raised nearly to boiling heat, 
but should never boil, as it would injure, if not ruin. 



SILK. 177 

the silk. The silk is now put into the suds, there to 
remain until the gum is discharged, which may be 
known by its flexibility and softness to the touch. 
The silk also becomes very white. When this 
is the case, the skeins should be wrung, and washed 
clean. 

There is a second process, called "fcrtg-ging;" 
but I have never found it necessary, and I believe it 
has seldom or never been used in this country. 

When it is intended that silk shall be dyed, it 
should be alumned. Dissolve fifty pounds of alum in 
hot water, and pour it into a vessel containing fifty 
gallons or more of cold water, and stir it well, other- 
wise chrystalization will take place. The washed 
silk is immersed in this solution during eight or ten 
hours. Then take it out, wash and wring it, and af- 
ter rinsing it, beetle it if necessary. Great care 
should be taken not to put the silk in while the wa- 
ter is hot, as the least warmth will injure the lustre 
of the silk. The alum should be good. Some 
alum is combined with iron, and this should always be 
avoided, as it is good for nothing, and if used would 
ruin the whole lot of silk. 

When it is desired to give silk brilliancy, and ren- 
der it of a pure azure white, it is subjected to a pro- 
cess called ^^ sulphuring ;^^ or, in other words, it is fu- 
migated with brimstone. The silk is hung up on 
poles in a close room, the poles being suspended 
above by cords, about seven feet from the floor. If 



178 SILK. 

there is a hundred pounds of silk to be sulphured, two 
pounds of brimstone should be put into a dish and set 
on fire. All windows and doors must be shut, and 
the silk left exposed to the fumes for fifteen or six- 
teen hours. The doors and windows should then be 
opened and the room well ventilated, before any per- 
son attempts to enter, when the silk may be taken 
down If it should not be white enough for the pur- 
pose intended, it may be subjected to repeated fumi- 
gations. 

MANUFACTURE OF SEWING SILK. 

The great consumption of sewing silk in this coun- 
try, will ever render the manufacture of it profitable ; 
not only in large factories, but in the cottages of our 
country. For many years the manufacture of sew- 
ing silk has been carried on in Connecticut, and the 
industrious wives and daughters of that State have 
rendered themselves profitable to their husbands and 
fathers. They did this too, with the spinning wheel, 
having none of the machinery now used, to facilitate 
the process. The Italians seldom use the best silk in 
making sewings or twist, whereas in the above State 
it is always used. So far, however, our people have 
never rivalled the sewing silk, of Italy, for their raw 
silk commands a higher price than our manufactured 
article. They use the Piedmontese reel, and all their 
silk is reeled upon it. There are reckoned three 
ways of manufacturing silk into sewings and twist 



SILK. 179 

First, by means of the common reel and spinning 
wheel. Second, in families, by the aid of Brooks' 
Spinning Machine. Third, in factories with many 
complicated machines. The process in factories is 
as follows ; The silk is first reeled on one of the 
reels in use, and afterwards wound off on bobbins, 
by a machine called a winding frame. It is useless 
to describe the machine, as no one can have an ade- 
quate idea of it without seeing it. The silk, howev- 
er, runs from swifts over rods made of glass, and is 
run upon bobbins by a transverse motion. The ine- 
qualities are taken from the silk by a machine of such 
a structure as to admit the silk through holes in 
plates of iron, and from them it passes over a rod of 
glass to other bobbins. Then the silk is spun on a 
spinning frame, the spindles of which are said to turn 
eighteen hundred times every minute. This machine 
can give any number of twists to the inch. 

After this, the doubling of the silk commences; 
sometimes called tramming. There is a machine in 
use on which the thread may be doubled any number 
of times, according to the size of the thread intend- 
ed. The next process is twisting, or technically 
called throwsted. A machine is used for twisting, 
and the twist is afterwards set by means of steam. 
It is steamed as it comes from the twisting machine. 
After it is steamed it is boiled in soap suds, and is 
now ready to be dyed. 

As the manufacture of silk does not properly be- 
long to an essay on the culture of silk, 1 shall say 



180 ' SILK. 

nothing of the process of dyeing the various colors, 
inasmuch as recipes may be found in all works on 
the subject. 

In speaking of the manufacture of sewing silk in 
families in Connecticut, Mr. Cobb says — " After it is 
reeled from the cocoon, it is immersed for a few mo- 
ments in boiling water, taken out, put on swifts, and 
spun or twisted on a common woollen wheel, begin- 
ning at the large end of the piece, that is the end 
which was reeled first ; and when it becomes small, 
which is the case when one-half or two-thirds is run 
off, the small end of another piece is added to it, and 
thus they are twisted together. It is then spooled di- 
rectly oflf the spindle ; a sufficient number of spools 
is put into a small spool frame to make a thread of 
proper size, which is twisted again while it is moist. 
It is reeled again, and cleansed by boiling in strong 
suds for three hours, then dried and colored. Under- 
going this process it shrinks about one-half in weight ; 
after this for sewing silk, it is doubled, twisted and 
reeled on a reel two yards long, and is divided into 
skeins of twenty threads each, as the statute of the 
State requires. If it be calculated for twist, it is 
made three threaded, twisted and done up into sticks 
with a small hand machine, and is then ready for mar- 
ket," 

Brooks' Silk Spinning Machine is highly spoken 
of, as suitable for families engaged in the art of ma- 
king sewing silk. This machine takes the silk from 



SILK. 181. 

the cocoon, twists, doubles and brings forth the per- 
fect sewing silk. The thread is remarkable for its 
even texture, for its brilliance and strength. It is con- 
sidered superior to that which is made in the usual 
way by reeling. The machine is calculated for a 
double or single thread, and prepares it for the loom 
or sewing silk. There is one great advantage in using 
Brooks' Silk Spinner; which is, that it takes the 
fibres from the cocoons in a wet gummy state, and 
unites them in that condition. The consequence is, 
the thread is united in one solid mass before it has 
time to dry; and, consequently, must be much strong- 
er and more even. A premium and several medals 
have been awarded to Mr. Brooks for his invention. 
In a letter, published in one of the papers devoted to 
the silk culture, he says — " I do not reel it at all be- 
fore it is twisted into warp or filling, or doubled and 
twisted into sewing silk, or for other uses, of any size 
or twist that may be wanted — perfectly even, firm, 
smooth and strong, as any that can be produced from 
any part of the world." 

The period is rapidly hastening on, when our man- 
ufactories will rival, and perhaps surpass, in their 
products the boasted fabrics of Europe. Mr. Gay, 
from Connecticut, brought into the middle States some 
samples of silks woven in his native State, which 
were as beautiful as any I ever saw from the far famed 
looms of France and Italy. 

1« 



182 SILK. 

LABOR, PROFIT AND aUANTITV. 

The labor required to attend to a given number of 
worms is not easily computed, as many circumstances 
must be taken into the account. If the large leaves 
of the Chinese Mulberry are used, instead of the 
small leaves of the White Mulberry, the labor will 
be vastly lessened. Then the size of the trees, and 
their distance from the cocoonery must be consider- 
ed ; also the industry of the persons engaged. 

To attend to 500,000 worms, one person will an- 
swer for the first week ; two persons for the second ; 
four for the third ; and for the last ten or twelve days, 
about eight or ten persons will be required. These 
persons may be women and boys. 

As it respects the profit arising from the culture of 
silk, many estimates have been made ; some of w^hich 
have been entirely too high. It has been reduced to 
certainty, that one hundred and fifty dollars nett profit 
may be realized from an acre of full grown trees. A 
certain writer estimates the product of one million of 
worms at 500 pounds of silk. I should say 400 lbs. 
would come nearer to the truth. Five hundred 
pounds, at three dollars per pound, (after deducting 
the price of reeling,) would amount to $1600. The 
expense of labor would be about $300, which would 
leave $1200 nett profit. 

Various estimates have been made with respect to 
the quantity of silk produced by a given number of 



SILK. . 183 

worms. The second year that I cultivated the worm, 
only a hundred and ninety cocoons of the large speck- 
led Lombardy worm were required to the pound. 
M. Bonafous says, that two hundred and fifty will 
make a pound; while Mr. D'Homergue makes three 
hundred and thirty weigh a pound. From 8000 co- 
coons Mr. Cobb reeled three pounds of silk. Count 
de Hazzi informs us, that from eight or ten pounds of 
cocoons, a pound of reeled silk may be obtained. 
Eight pounds! of cocoons, or about 8000, make a bush- 
el ; from which, two to three pounds of reeled silk 
may be expected. The difference in these calcula- 
tions is owing to the different kinds of worms, and 
the manner of feeding. The cocoons of worms of 
the large species, are three times as large as those of 
the small species. 

In conclusion I must observe, that putting the pro- 
fits of the silk culture at the low"est estimate, the bu- 
siness is still profitable ; and I recommend all who 
are properly situated to embark in it. I have had 
the honor of introducing the culture of the Mulberry, 
and the rearing of worms into a part of the state of 
Delaware, with fine prospects of success. May they 
reap the reward, as I have no doubt they will, of 
their enterprize. 



CULTURE OF THE BEET. 



That the beet may be cultivated to advantage for 
the making of sugar, is now reduced to a certainty. 
The French have carried the cultivation of the beet 
and the manufacture of sugar to considerable extent. 
So early as 1812, according to a Paris newspaper, 
214 licenses were taken out for the manufacture of 
sugar. Messrs. Ronaldson and Vaughn, with others, 
have done much to introduce the culture of the sugar 
beet into the United States, and richly deserve the 
thanks of the community as public benefactors. 
Much interest is excited in England on this subject. 

In this essay I shall endeavor to give a concise ac- 
count of the mode of raising the beet, and of the 
manner in which sugar is made from it. Sugar is 
one of the constituents of the beet root, and care 
should be taken in procuring the sugar, to destroy 
as little as possible. It is an undeniable fact, that in 
the present state of the manufacture, much is lost 
through improper management. 

In cultivating the beet and manufacturing sugar, I 
would recommend the manufacturer to make only the 
raw sugar, as the process of refining is very diflScuIt 
and complex, requiring an intimate knowledge, gained 



THE BELT. 185 

by long experience. Refining commences after the 
raw sugar is made, and the process lasts six or eight 
months, making the time long before he can dispose 
of his product. 

The beet is a biennial plant, which bears seed the 
second year. The height to which the stalk grows, 
is from two to four or five feet. The beet will grow 
in any soil where the potato flourishes; but a sandy 
soil impregnated with vegetable matter, is the best. 
A very sandy soil, however, should not be chosen. It 
is said that small beets give a larger proportion of su- 
gar than large ones. Calcareous soils are not adapt- 
ed to the culture of the beet, neither is a very clay- 
ey soil; but marl and clay improve a sandy soil. 

The ground to be prepared should be ploughed 
three times ; twice in the winter and once in the 
spring. Some culturists, however, only plough twice. 
If the soil is sandy, it should not be ploughed deep ; 
but in a clayey soil the matter is reversed. It is, I 
believe, agreed that the best manure is that in which 
putrefaction has just begun, as it by the division of the 
soil gives the roots room to strike freely into the 
earth. The ground is harrowed twice, and rolled 
between each harrowing after the last time it is 
ploughed, in the spring. By all means the soil should 
be well pulverized. The soil should be damp at th§ 
time of planting the seed. 



16^ 



186 cuLTURir aF 

SEED. 

The choice of seed is a very great matter, as on 
the color of the root depends the color of the sugar, 
and, consequently, its value. The method of choos- 
ing proper seed, is to sow some of them in a pot of 
vegetable mould, and expose it to a heat of 30 de- 
grees Centigrade, or 86 degrees of Fahrenheit's 
thermometer, watering the earth in the pot from time 
to time during the process. Two small leaves will 
shoot up from each seed in about twelve days, which 
when fully blown out, should be rubbed gently be- 
tween two fingers. Should the sap, thus obtained 
from the leaves by the rubbing, colour an object red, 
the seed are not good, and should by no means be 
used. The reason of this is, that sugar made from 
white roots is not of so high a color as that which 
comes from the red beet, and is not so troublesome to 
refine. No seed should be used but those of the Si- 
lesian white beet, if they can be had. No other rule 
to discover good seed, is so certain as the above. 

The French people practice four modes of sowing 
the seed. The Jlrst, is to sow them in beds, in nur- 
sery style. The second, broadcast, in the manner of 
sowing wheat. The third, in drills. The fourth, 
by a machine for the purpose. A very small space 
is required for sowing the seed in beds, for so soon as 
they grow thick, they are transplanted. This is 
done about a month or six weeks after germination 



THE BEET. 187 

The labor in this mode is great, and is not all the in- 
eonvenience ; for the beets are injured by being ex- 
posed, and the small fibres are torn asunder. 

The second mode, also, has some objections. It is 
rery easy to scatter the seed, as in sowing wheat ; 
but the worst of the matter is, that this mode requires 
a great deal of seed. In some countries the seed sell 
at an enormous price. Seven pounds are required 
for an acre when sown broadcast. There is one very 
great advantage in this mode of sowing, which is, 
that the cultivator can cull out the worst, and leave 
the best plants growing, by which he will be certain 
of an excellent crop. 

The third mode of sowing is very good. When 
the seed are sown in drills, a harrow is used with very 
fine teeth. Women in France sow the seed, by put- 
ting them singly into the furrow, about twelve inches 
apart. A cross harrow is then used, which is finer. 
An acre may be sowed in this way, by four women, 
which is a very great saving. 

The machine, for sowing the seed, is considered 
the most simple and economical of all the modes 
enumerated. I will endeavor to describe it. The 
machine is composed of a hopper, to receive the 
seed ; the bottom is shaped like a cylinder of wood, 
with cavities in the surface to receive the seed, the 
cavities being sixteen inches asunder. Two wheels 
support the machine^ and in those wheels are teeth, 
which give motion to the cylinder. The cylinder as- 



188 CULTlTRE OF 

it turns, causes the seed to fall in its cavities, 
and then drops them into the furrow, at the regular 
distance of sixteen inches. The furrows are formed 
, by shares, fixed in front of the machine. There are 
three of them, and they plough but half an inch deep. 
For the purpose of covering up the seed, there are 
three rollers fixed behind. This machine, drawn by 
one horse, will so\r several acres in a day, attended 
by a man or boy, whose only care is to keep the hop- 
per supplied with seed, and the holes open. 

The sower should be particular not to put the seed 
more than half an inch deep in the ground, as when 
too deep they do not receive the influence of the air, 
moisture and warmth, which are absolutely necessary 
to germination. The seed should always, when prac- 
ticable, be put down immediately after the ground 
has been broken up. 

Cultivators are at variance as to the proper time 
for sowing the beet seed, but it has been found to be 
a fact, that they can scarcely be sown too soon in 
season, for the simple reason, that the soonerthey are 
sown the sooner they arrive at maturity, and the soon- 
er the manufacturer may begin with the process of 
making sugar. It is declared to be a fact, that sugar 
made in September is more easily extracted, and is of 
a lighter and more beautiful texture, than when the 
process is delayed. It is also declared, that the quan- 
tity obtained from the roots will be considerably 
greater, if sown in March, than if sown in May. 



THE BEET. 189 

The time for sowing, however, ranges from March 
until May, and even June. 

CARE IN CULTIVATION. 

Great care should be taken to remove all grass and 
noxious weeds, which may obstruct the growth and 
materially diminish the product. Every cleanli- 
ness must be observed, during the whole process of 
growing the beet. They should be stirred with the 
hoe three times. The first time when they have 
three or four leaves ; the second, a month after ; and 
the third a month after the second. It is no matter 
whether there are weeds or not, the hoe should be 
used to loosen the surface of the soil, and give air to 
the fine fibres which rise towards the surface. Never 
use the hoe after a rain, but do the matter judicious- 
ly, and a heavy crop is inevitable. One thing should 
be particularly observed ; whenever any of the 
plants become unhealthy, they should be taken up, 
and should any show a tendency to go to seed, cut 
the stalks off. Never tear off any of the leaves of 
the healthy beet, for every leaf taken away is a cer- 
tain quantity of sugar lost. The above should be re- 
ligiously observed by the cultivator. 

TAKING UP THE BEET. 

The proper time for taking up beets, may be known 
by the changing of the leaves from a bright green and 
red colour, to a brownish yellow, and when they 



190 CULTURE OF 

droop and wither. When this is seen, they should 
immediately be taken up, as the sugar every hour they 
are suffered to remain in the ground is being lost, and 
saltpetre replaced instead. A spade is generally 
the instrument with which the beet is taken up, and 
the manner of doing it, is to make a deep cut in front 
of each plant ; then to bury the hand under the same 
and force it from the earth, being careful not to bruise 
the roots by knocking one against another. The 
beets are all laid on the ground in one direction, that 
is their roots, and then with a spade the stalks are 
seperated from the roots. This must absolutely be 
done, or the plant will continue to grow, and a great 
loss of sugar be the consequence. But the plan of 
cutting off the roots with a spade is condemned by 
many culturists, and they contend that it should be 
done with the hand. The danger in bruising them is 
this ; fermentation ensues, and, of course, whenever 
and wherever this takes place, the sugar is lost. 
Beets should always be dug in dry weather, as they 
often heat, as it is called, in wet weather, and fer- 
mentation ensues. 

The next thing in order, is to preserve the beets. 
Some place them in a cellar, but it is said that a pit is 
better. The size of the pit of course must be ac- 
cording to the quantity of beets. It is said that the 
best form and size is twelve feet long, three feet wide 
at bottom, and thirty-one inches deep. In this pit 
ipay be stowed from two to three thousand pounds 



The beet. 191 

of beets. In forming this reservoir, the dirt should 
be thrown out on both sides, so that when the beets 
are placed therein the earth may easily be heaped 
over them. A coat of dirt three inches thick, is suf- 
ficient. Be particular that this pit or reservoir be lo- 
cated where the springs cannot rise. Occasionally 
the beets should be examined, for one rotten one may 
ruin a large quantity. Some cover the beets with 
straw, but this practice is condemned, as the roots are 
more apt to ferment or rot. 

When first taken up, be careful not to suffer the 
beets to lie long exposed on the ground to moisture 
and air. They are equally injured by both extremes 
of heat and cold, and even when subjected to a tem- 
perature, if damp, of 5Q degrees of Fahrenheit, the 
vinous fermentation will ensue, and a loss of sugar 
be the consequence. So, on the contrary, the beet 
freezes very easily, so much so that large quantities 
have been known to freeze when the thermometer 
w^as only two or three degrees below the fieezing 
point. When once frozen, it is entirely useless to 
attempt to thaw them for the purpose of making su- 
gar, for they are then found to be but a black and rot- 
ten mass. So hard are they when frozen, that the 
instrument is blunted with which it is attempted to 
cut them. 

PRODUCTION OF SEED* 

The seed of the beet are only produced the second 
year, being, as was observed before, a biennial plant. 



192 CULTURE OF 

When beets are gathered, those should be selected 
which are intended for the production of seed the 
next year. The following are the appearances by 
which good beets for seed are chosen ; 

1st. Choose those which are perfectly healthy. 

2d. Of middle size, thickness and length. 

Sd. Be particular that they are not forked. 

4th. They should be perfectly white. 

A portion of the stalk and the leaves of the beets 
you have chosen for seed, should be cut off'; but care 
must be exercised not to cut down to the neck, as 
that might injure, if not destroy, the germinating pow- 
er. The next process is to pack them down in sand, 
and place them in a cellar, or some other proper place. 
In the beginning of spring, say about the first of 
March or April, they should be set out^ or planted up 
to the neck, and about two feet six inches apart. 
Give them room and nourishment, and they will put 
forth luxuriantly, growing four or five feet high, 
and will need propping. About the fifteenth or twen- 
tieth of September the seed will ripen, when the 
stalks should be cut off', several of them tied togeth- 
er, and hung up where the air will circulate freely 
through them. When they are perfectly dry, you 
should strip them, which is done with the hand. The 
seed should now be spread upon a board and dried by 
a fire, or in the sun. After this process, the chaff" 
should be extracted, and the clean seed put away in 
bags, where no mice or insects can injure them. Each 



TH£ BEET. 193 

beet, it has been computed, will give from three to 
six ounces of the best seed. No cultivator should 
ever sow seed that are more than five years old, as 
they become shrivelled and rotten, and lose their 
vegetative power. It is well known that the seed 
of the white beet will often produce the red or yel- 
low, and it is said that this may be corrected by 
changing the soil from clay to sand, and vice versa. 

Note. — Beets should never be cultivated on land 
newly cleared, nor even on land that has been covered 
with timber within several years ; for it has been 
proven by actual experiment, that such land is entire- 
ly unsuited to such cultivation. Neither should beets 
be grown for any number of years successively, 
though the land should be ever so well suited to the 
production. " Many farmers in France pursue the 
following rotation : the first year wheat, the second 
beets, the third clover, and so on, wheat, beets and 
clover in succession. When beets are to follow 
wheat, the ground should have two deep ploughings, 
as it must be so hard as to require it. Some plant po- 
tatoes the first year, beets the second, oats or wheat 
the third, and clover the fourth. There is, however, 
a sugar maker at Arras, who has grown beets on the 
same ground for fifteen successive years, taking care 
only every year to change the manure or dressing ; 
this, however, is not a practice to be followed — cer- 
tain growers have been ruined by it" 

17 



194 BEET ROOT SUGAR. 

ON MAKING BEET ROOT SUGAR. 

The second part of the subject treats of making 
the sugar from the beets, the manner of cultivating 
which has been showw. The object here is to show 
how the greatest quantity and the best quality can be 
produced. 

It has been a custom with those in France who 
make their own raw sugar to refine it ; but experi- 
ence proves that this is a very bad plan, as it requires 
a long acquaintance with the art, and a considerable 
knowledge of chymistry. But this is not all : the 
great length of time required should be a sufficient 
barrier, for with the production of the raw sugar and 
the process of refining, fifteen months at least must 
elapse, before he can realize the reward of his 
labor. 

Sugar, I need not say, for it is well known, is one 
of the constituents of the beet; and the great art in 
extracting it from the root, is to choose some process 
by which the largest quantity can be obtained and the 
least portion destroyed ; for it is conceded on all 
hands, that a portion is lost in the present imperfect 
state of the art. The time, however, is rapidly ap- 
proaching, when like that of silk, knowledge will be 
disseminated on the culture of the beet, and not only 
the culture, but the manufacture of sugar. When 
the cultivation and manufacture of silk and sugar 



BEET ROOT SUGAR. 195 

shall have been brought to perfection, millions of noo- 
ney will be saved to the country, and employment 
given to thousands who are now entirely unproduc- 
tive. I shall proceed to describe the manufacture in 
the order in which the manufacturer proceeds. And 
first, 

TO CLEAN THE BEETS. 

This work is done by women and children. The 
beets should be either washed or scraped. The in- 
strument used for scraping, is a knife with a wide 
blade and nine or ten inches long. The women and 
children now seat themselves around the pile of beets, 
and each one taking a single beet in the hand, scrapes 
every particle of earth and other matter off. The 
very large beets are cut into two or four pieces, after 
being scraped, to render them of a proper size to en- 
ter the rasp. The incision, however, should always 
be longitudinally or lengthways. The process of 
cleaning is very necessary, and should be done neat- 
ly. Manufacturers are at variance with respect to 
the necessity of washing the beets; some contend 
that it is absolutely necessary, while others declare 
that a rough brush, after the knife, is sufficient. But 
it is my opinion drawn from correct premises, that 
water is necessary to a thorough cleaning, though the 
quantity necessary for a manufactory is not so great 
as some imagine. In fact the quantity required is but 
small, and can readily be obtained in any manufacto- 
ry. 



196 BEET ROOT SUGAR. 

The process of cleaning should always be carried 
on in the vicinity of the press and rasping apparatus, 
and the enclosure where it is carried on, should be 
sufficient to contain a supply for the establishment for 
five days. The clean beets should be placed in bas- 
kets and conveyed to the rasp, where they are left, 
and empty baskets taken back. It is said that four 
women skilled in the business, will clean and carry 
six or seven tons in twelve hours. The next pro- 
cess is 

THE OPERATION OF RASPING. 

There have been many mills invented in France, 
for the purpose of rasping the beet ; but universal 
consent, T believe, has declared in favor of the one 
invented by Molard. The following is a description 
of the machine. A cast iron cylinder is set round 
with rough blades like saws, zigzag and jagged. 
These tooth-like processes saw, tear and squeeze the 
juice from the beet. An author, whose name I do 
not recollect, says that Molard's mill will operate on 
three or four tons of beets in an hour, with the labor 
of two men. 

The beet is of a very firm and solid consistence, 
so much so that the juice cannot well be extracted by 
pressure alone, on account of its being contained in 
a great many little cells, and hence it is necessary 
that the rasp should break these in order to obtain 
the juice. The process of rasping requires more ex- 



BEET ROOT SUGAR. 



197 



pedition than any other in the manufacture of sugar 
from the beet. The quantity rasped at any one time 
should never exceed that which is required for imme- 
diate use, as the pulp is powerfully operated on by 
the atmospheric air, so much so, that in half an hour 
a great change is effected. The rasp and the press 
should go together in their operation, the one but a 
little in advance of the other. There is another 
thing which should be particularly mentioned. In all 
cases the rasp should be kept perfectly clean, as any 
particles of pulp left sticking to it will ferment, and 
injury must ensue. 

It is expensive to work the rasp mill by human 
power, and, therefore, oxen are better suited than 
even horses, because they are kept with less cost than 
horses, and will eat the pulp, which horses will not. 
Some manufacturers in France, prefer wind power to 
either that of water or steam, on account that water 
cannot always be obtained in level countries, and the 
expensiveness of steam, when not located in a coal 
region. But there is one great objection to wind 
power, which is, that it is very uncertain and irregu- 
lar. 



TO EXTRACT THE SUGAR. 



Sugar is extracted from the pulp only by pressure. 
The greater the pressure the greater the quantity ob- 
tained from a certain quantum of pulp, yet it is im- 
possible with the greatest known pressure that the hy- 
17* 



198 BEET ROOT SUGAR. 

draulic press can produce, to obtain all, for the pulp 
will remain moist. It is a question, whether the last 
portions of juice are worth the trouble of obtaining 
them. The first juice runs from the bags without 
pressure, the second with a light pressure, the third 
with a heavy pressure ; and it remains to be proven, 
whether the juice obtained by a very heavy pressure, 
is worth the co&t of the labor. The last juice ob- 
tained cannot be more than eight or ten percent. 
This would, of course, in a great measure depend 
upon the power used ; for steam, wind, water, horse, 
or ox power, are all cheaper than the labor of man, 
though it is so frequently used. A hydraulic press, 
of the power of ten tons, will extract seventy per 
cent, of juice at first ; but when the power is 
doubled, eight per cent, is about the portion extract- 
ed, which will not certainly pay for the labor. 

The quantity of syrup to be obtained from a given 
weight of beets, depends more upon the rasp than 
the press. The finer they are rasped the more juice 
is obtained, but all beets do not give the same pro- 
portion ; for it has been found by actual experi- 
ment, that those beets which contain the most sugar, 
yield the smallest portion of juice. It is the quanti- 
ty of water which makes up the superabundance of 
juice, and so exactly is this pointed out by the areom- 
eter, that manufacturers can ascertain how much su- 
gar can be obtained from a given quantity of roots. 
The operation of pressing should be carried on as. 
|*apidly as possible. 



BEET ROOT SUGAR. 199 

A great many presses have been used for the pur- 
pose of obtaining the juice from the beet, as the 
wedge, the lever, the screw, cylinder and the hydrau- 
lic press. Universal consent appears to give the 
preference to the hydraulic, as it is more powerful, 
and, consequently, more expeditious; for it extracts 
all the juice that is worth the labor to obtain, at one 
operation. There are certain articles which belong 
to the press. These are 

1st. The bags which are to hold the pulp. 

2d. A wide reservoir in which the bags are pre- 
pared. 

3d. Hurdle, made of osier or hemp. 

4th. A cistern to hold juice, provided with a pump 
and pipes. 

The pulp bags should be of very strong material, 
such as canvas, or stout Irish linen. The canvas 
should be of sUch a fabric as to suffer the juice to 
run through it freely, and yet retain the pulp. The 
bags, when in use, should be changed in about every 
ten or twelve hours, and then washed in hot water. 
The size of the bags is governed entirely by the 
power of the press, and the number is regulated by 
the number of presses in operation. Twenty-five 
ba^s is called in France, un jeu de sacs^ or a set ; 
which set is sometimes used with one press. Two 
sets will be sufficient for a press that is kept in ope- 
ration through the day, and three sets if the press is 
kept in operation day and night. 



200 BEET ROOT SUGAR. 

The reservoir in which the bags are prepared, 
should be of the following dimensions, admitting 
that the hurdles are 2 feet wide, and SJ in length. 
The width should be 2^ feet, the length 6i, and the 
depth 1 foot. The reservoir should be made of 
strong wood, and lined with metal, such as copper. 
It should be stationed between the rasp and the press, 
and the end near the cistern to receive the pulp. 
A cock should be fixed in one corner of it, and rails 
should be fixed round it to hang the bags on. The 
reservoir must be raised a few inches from the floor, 
for the sake of convenience. 

The hurdles are made of very strong osier, and 
serve to support the bags under the press. The size 
of them is regulated by the face of the press. The 
hurdle, in its structure, resembles the hamper, and is 
easily made by a basket maker. There should be 
the same number of hurdles that there are of bags, 
with the exception of one. They should be washed 
with lime water every twelve hours, in the reservoir 
mentioned above. There should be more sets than 
one, that they may be renewed or changed every ten 
or twelve hours. 

The cistern, like the reservoir, should be made of 
strong wood, and lined with copper. The cistern is 
intended to contain the juice as it runs forth from the 
press, from whence it is carried to the clarifying 
copper. Pipes should lead from the press to the cis- 
tern, and a pump is necessary to throw up the juice 



BEET ROOT SUGAR. 201 

into the clarifying copper. The cistern must of 
ccwrse be situated lower down than the press, so that 
the juice by a common law of gravitation, shall flow 
from the press into it. It should always be kept per- 
fectly clean. The shape of the cistern is of no mo- 
ment at all, and the size depends upon the mode of 
working. If there is one defacation in twelve hours, 
the cistern should be about half the size of the defa- 
cating copper ; but if there are two or three defaca- 
tions in the same time, the cistern should be of the 
same capacity. 

DEFACATION. 

The juice, just as it comes from the press, con- 
tains all the matter that is soluble in the beet, such as 
sugar, water, &c., as will be enumerated hereafter. 
Now it is very plain, that if the juice were compo- 
sed of nothing but sugar, combined with water, it 
would be no trouble whatever to evaporate the water 
and leave the sugar behind ; but then there are fo- 
reign substances combined with the sugar, which pre- 
vent the ready evaporation of the water, and the crys- 
talizationof the sugar. From this cause defacation is 
necessary, and this is nothing more than mixing with 
the juice certain substances which have an affinity for 
these foreign substances, and will precipitate them. 
These substances or agents, should be of such a na- 
ture as not to afiect the quality of the sugar, but go 
off with the refuse substJ^nces. The substance s most 



202 BEET ROOT SUGAR. 

geserally used for this purpose are sulphuric acid 
and lime, great care in the use of which is recom- 
mended- Heat is necessary in defacating the juice, 
and for this purpose boilers are necessary. 

The boilers should be made of copper, and of a 
circular shape. Their size should correspond with 
that of the establishment, varying from two to five 
or six hundred gallons. Some manufacturers prefer 
having a greater number of small ones, ranging in 
size from 40 to 50 gallons. Every operation, in ma- 
king sugar from the beet, should be carried on with 
the utmost despatch. The rasping, as observed be- 
fore, should go on rapidly, as heat is generated, and, 
consequently, fermentation takes place in a propor- 
tionate degree, by which a corresponding portion of 
sugar is lost. Heat acts powerfully on all organic 
substances held in solution by water. Now the long- 
er the time between the rasping and the press, and 
,,betw^een the press and the boilers, the greater the 
fermentation, and, coiisequently, the gteater the 
loss of sugar. Many times through inattention, or 
other causes, this is so great that the sugar cannot be 
seperated at all. Therefore, it is necessary that the 
boilers should be filled as rapidly as possible, and a 
number of rasps and presses should be kept in oper- 
ation, in proportion to the size of the boilers used. 
If the boiler holds 600 gallons, and it is desired to fill 
it with juice in two hours, four tons of roots must be 
rasped and pressed. To perform this in the given 
time, will r^^-'iire three rasping mills and five presses. 



BEET ROOT SUGAR. 203 

Many are of opinion, that boilers of the middle 
size are best suited to the purpose ; for instance, 
such as will hold from eighty to ninety gallons. It 
is believed that two of these would perform the same 
as one holding 5 or 600 gallons ; for while the pro- 
cess of defacation is being carried on in one, the oth- 
er is undergoing the process of precipitation. 

All boilers, intended for the process of defacation, 
should be in height equal to its diameter. Room 
should be allowed in the boiler for the operation of 
boiling, as for instance, if the boiler is to contain 
200 gallons of juice, it should be made large enough 
to hold 240 gallons. The boiler should be stationed 
at such a height, that the syrup may be easily run off 
into the boilers for evaporation. The temperature 
ought never to rise above 2 1 2 degrees Fahrenheit. If 
the boiler is 36 inches both in height and in diameter, 
the grate should be 23 inches in length, and 1 5 inches in 
breadth, and should be made of cast iron, having ten 
bars. The necessary apparatus belonging to a defa- 
cating boiler, are as follows : 

1st. An areometer and a thermometer. 

2d. A bin and buckets for lime. 

3d. A pair of scales with weights for weighing 
lime. 

4th» A copper or lead measure for sulphuric acid. 

5th. A spoon plated to examine the juice, and a 
saucer for experiment. 

6th. A wooden spatula to stir the syrup in the boiler. 



204 BEET ROOT SU^AR. 

7th. A funnel and a filter, 
8th. A skimming ladle. , 

• OF THE THERMOMETER AND AREOMETER. 

The areometer of Beaume should in all cases be us- 
ed in preference to any other. The thermometer in 
defacation, is useful in ascertaining the temperature, 
and thus to know when to put in the agents which 
produoe clarification. It should be frequently put in- 
to the liquid while clarification is going on. 

The areometer should have a handle of wood, and 
a case made of tin. When the syrup is to be weigh- 
ed, it is drawn up in the tin case, holding it by the 
handle. The syrup should always be at the same tem- 
perature when examined, and it should be taken as it 
exudes from the press, plunged by the aid of the tin 
case in water, to reduce the temperature to 55 de- 
grees of Fahrenheit. The specific gravity is dimin- 
ished if weighed while it is boiling, and consequently 
a difference is found more or less, of 4 degrees. The 
specific gravity is diminished by the expansion of the 
fluid by heat. 

The lime, which is used in the defacation of the sy- 
rup, should be unslacked. It should be weighed 
while in that state, slacked, and then water enough ad- 
ded to bring it to the consistence of cream. A bin or 
cistern is used for this purpose, which is of a circular 
shape, with a cover. The lime should be sifted very 
fine, and all the lumps should be taken out. M. Du- 



' BEET ROOT SUGAR. 205 

brunfaut says, the lime should not be slacked until it 
is weighed. 

The sulphuric acid in its natural state is too strong, 
and requires five or six times the quantity of water 
before it can be used. The mixture is made in buck- 
ets made of wood, with copper hoops. No metallic 
vessel save a golden one, and that is too expensive, 
can be used ; as the acid would decompose the me- 
tal, and form a sulphate of iron, of copper, &c. 

An instrument is necessary to stir the syiup in the 
boiler, and this should be a round stick, at the end of 
which should be fastened a round board one foot in 
diameter, which should be full of holes. 

The next things enumerated, are a plated spoon 
and a saucer, which are for the purpose of examining 
the syrup. The spoon must always be clean and 
bright, as the clarifier can more easily tell when the 
process is complete. The saucer should be white, 
as it is used for the purpose of ascertaining when the 
syrup has a superabundance of alkali and acid. 

The skimmer should be eight inches in diameter. 
It is not always necessary to skim the boiling syrup, 
and especially when precipitation is going on, for 
then the scum prevents the fluid from cooling too rap- 
idly. 

The filtre should be made of coarse cloth or can,- 
vas. 

I shall now give M. Houdart's method or process 

of defacation, in a quotation from a work on the man- 
18 



206 BEET ROOT SUGAR. 

ufacture of beet sugar. " Suppose," says the au- 
thor, "that 114 gallons of juice are to be clarified. 
The boiler being charged, and the fire burning, the 
thermometer is placed in it, and should be kept there 
till it amounts to 60 or 65 degrees (167*^ or 178° of 
Fahrenheit.) During this interval, eighty-eight 
pounds of lime slacked and sifted, are weighed out; 
four or five bags are then similarly prepared, each 
bag containing seven pounds of lime. This done, 
the eighty-eight pounds of lime are put into a wood- 
en vessel, where they are mixed with clear water, till 
they become like milk. This mixture is poured into 
the boiler when the temperature is above 60 or 65 
degrees of Reaumur. The whole is then briskly 
stirred for some minutes, in order to incorporate the 
lime well with the liquor. Before the lime is added, 
a thick scum will rise on the surface. Lime often 
destroys this scum, or at any rate, it is suspended in 
the liquid by agitating it when the lime is added. 
When thoroughly mixed, some minutes should elapse 
before the full effect will be produced; then, with 
a bright spoon, take a little of the liquor, and exam- 
ine it carefully ; if the quantity of lime be sufficient, 
the juice will exhibit a number of clots, or particles 
in suspension, which will soon settle to the bottom of 
the spoon, leaving the upper part of the liquor per- 
fectly clear and transparent, and more or less of an 
amber color. If, instead of this, the lumps are very 
much divided, and only swim in the liquor without 



BEET ROOT SUGAR. 267 

settling to the bottom, even for several seconds, and 
if the juice remains of a thick milky color, it is a 
proof that more lime is wanted. 

" One of the little parcels of seven pounds is then 
mixed with the water, poured into the boiier, and 
well stirred as before. The juice is then again exam- 
ined with a spoon, and if the symptoms are still not 
so favorable as they might be, another seven pounds 
are added, and so on, seven pounds at each time till 
defacation of the whole is complete. 

" Eighty-eight pounds of lime to 114 gallons of 
juice, may always be used with safety. It is in fact 
the minimum dose which ought to be applied. The 
quantity varies with the quality of the beet root, and 
the period of the season when applied. Thus, at the 
beginning of the season, when the roots are rich and 
full of sugar, the greater will be the proportion of 
lime necessary. The object of the lime being to 
precipitate certain substances which impede the for- 
mation of sugar, it should, of course, be added in 
quantities adequate to the amount of these substan- 
ces; for, experience seems to show, that as the quan- 
tity of sugar increases, so will also these extraneous 
matters. Thus, a firm, solid beet root requires more 
than a watery root, and vice versa. 

" On the whole the safest way is to begin with little 
enough of lime, for it is very easy to add more 
from time to time, as above directed. But it is not 
to be inferred from hence, that, on the whoky a small 



^08 BElET ROOT SlUCJAR. 

Quantity is preferable to a larger. So far as is this 
from being the case, that it is considered better to use 
too much than too little ; for though an excess of this 
alkali is prejudical to the sugar, it is always less so 
than an insufficient quantity. The observations of 
the workmen cannot be too frequently taken during 
the process of defacating. A clear liquor and a 
perfect precipitation are the main objects to be ac- 
complished. 

*' The beet juice, when it comes from the press, is 
of a milky hue and yet dingy. When heated the 
scum and froth rise; but as soon as the lime is added, 
the black dirty color disappears by degrees, and 
abundance of flakes are seen in the liquor. These 
flakes are usually of a yellowish grey color ; when 
the proportion of lime is sufficient, they seperate 
from the liquid and sink to the bottom. When arri- 
ved at this stage of the defacation, the fire must be 
withdrawn, and the boiler left to itself for an hour or 
two that the whole may settle properly. The cock 
placed just above the bottom of the boiler should be 
opened to draw off the liquor clear. The juice is 
then conveyed to the evaporating pans, of which 
more hereafter. Care should be taken to watch the 
liquor as it runs off, lest any part should become thick 
and turbid, especially towards the end; so soon as 
this is perceived, the cock should be closed and the 
lower one opened, that the residuum may pass 
through the filtre. When this is all drawn oflf, the 
boiler is ready for a fresh charg^e. 



BEET ROOT SUGAR. 209 

" It has been shown that it is better to use too 
much than too little lime in defacation. Both are 
stated to be evils, and, yet of the two evils the for- 
mer is the least. After having operated on the extra- 
neous matter in the sugar, it then begins to act on the 
sugar itself. 

" Defacation by lime alone, then, has this grand 
inconvenience, that a part of the sugar is destroyed 
(o save the other. In this process, in fact when this 
syrup is run into moulds, it produces an abundant 
crystalization ; and the molasses which comes from 
it more rapidly than by any other method, has a very 
disagreeable taste and smell : it has but little sweet- 
ness ; and if by any known process a second crystal- 
ization be attempted, not an atom of sugar can be 
obtained from it. Nay, more — the sugar partakes 
of the bad taste and smell of the molasses, and is 
thereby rendered unsaleable in the market. 

'^ It is a pity that the defacation by lime presents 
these inconveniences, for it is the mode of all others 
the simplest, and best adapted to common farm es- 
tablishments. It is, indeed, on this account that many 
manufacturers who have adopted it continue still to 
use it, notwithstanding the inferiority it presents, 
both as to quality and quantity of its results as com- 
pared with those of other and more complicated 

methods." 
18* 



RECAPITULATION 5 

t>R SUGGESTIONS AFTER WRITING THE WORK. 



There appears to be in the vegetable, as well as in the 
ammal kingdom, a healing and preservative power, which 
repairs all breaches, renovates what is worn out,and strug* 
gles against decay. Physicians call this power in the hu- 
taan system, the vis medicalrix el tonservalrix natures^ or 
the healing and preservative power of nature. When a 
bone is broken, nature immediately begins to repair the 
breach by throwing out a secretion of bony matter, which 
gradually hardens and unites the ends of the bones. To 
still plainer show her intention. Nature after having unit- 
ed the ends of the bone, builds up a strong ridge round 
the part which was separated, as if to guard against any 
future violence. This ridge may be felt through the flesh 
by any person, particularly a young one, who has had a 
bone broken. Jn grafting a tree, precisely the same ope- 
ration is carried on. A secretion of sap is thrown out, 
which hardens into wood and thus unites the two parts. 
When the human flesh is cut with a knife, nature also se- 
cretes from the blood a fluid, but not bony, which thick- 
ens like glue when the wound is kept from the air, and 
unites the lips of the wound by the first intention— that is, 
xvithout suppuration. But if the air is suffered to act up* 



^^CAPITULATION. Sll 

on the wound by its being uncovered, the oxygen of the 
atmosphere unites with the secreted fluid, and renders it 
«o thin that it cannot unite the lips of the wound, and 
hence the necessity of keeping a cut finger or other part 
wrapped up in bandages. Now this is precisely the case 
with a tree. If a deep cut is made into it, a fluid is se- 
creted, which will unite the wound if kept covered ; but if 
not, the oxygen of tlie atmosphere unites with the secret- 
ed fluid and renders it too thin to unite the wound. Here 
we see a great similitude between the animal and vegeta- 
ble, which it is found will correspond throughout. 

We find loo, when we open the great volume of nature 
and pry into her works, that there is a perfect adaptation 
of every thing to its proper place, use or end. We see it 
in the golden globes which wheel their courses round the 
great hall of Heaven-—we see it in the glorious sun, with- 
out whose light and heat all animal and vegetable life 
must perish. Without his light ihe beautiful colors which 
deck and adorn this world of flowers were extinct, and 
without the atmosphere which surrounds us, the melodi- 
ous sounds of music would delight our ears no more ; for 
there is no sound in a vacuum. We see this wonderful a- 
daptation of Nature in the things which are upon our 
earth and in what concerns man. In level and temperate 
countries, where swiftness is required, the horse is placed. 
On the desert we find the camel, an animal capable of en- 
dnrino" long fatigue and of carrying with it a supply of wa- 
ter, it is well known that water i« scarce on the great 
deserts of Asia and Africa, and on this very account Na- 
ture has placed a large hollow hump on the back of the 
^mel, in which he may c^rry his supply of water, H« 



212 RECAPITULATION. 

has also the power of eating a large quantity of food, half 
chewed, which he can bring up at pleasure and chew as 
he passes over the desert. Here we see the wisdom of 
the great Disposer of all things. Had the horse been pla- 
ced upon the desert as a beast of burthen, instead of the 
camel, he would have perished for water and food before 
half his journey were performed. In Lapland and other 
northern climes, where the earth is covered with eternal 
gnows, the Reindeer is placed. His legs are slender, but 
they are supported by the snow. He must travel rapidly, 
or his master would perish in a long journey. There is a 
skin which he can draw down over his eye, to protect it 
from the frozen flakes of snow, which would inevitably 
put his eyes out. In the centre of the skin is a very mi- 
nute hole, through which he can distinctly see his way 
without the possibility of injury from the frozen particles. 
Here again we see a wise provision and adaptation of na- 
ture. Were the eyes of the reindeer unprotected, it would 
be impossible for the animal to travel in those regions of 
perpetual storm, where the snow flakes are driven before 
the wind with immense velocity. And again, were the 
reindeer placed upon the burning sands- of the desert, or 
the camel upon the snow-clad hills of Lapland, how soon 
"would each perish in the performance of the other's task ; 
how ill adapted would they be to those climates. Wonder- 
ful are thy works and ways, Oh Lord, God of Heaven ! 

There is a power in Nature which is ever striving a- 
gainst decay. Nature evidently endeavors to renovate 
herself. Mark yon field which has been turned out as 
good for nothing by the injudicious farmer, who has work- 
ed it Hntil it can yield no longer. Nature teaches him ho^ 



RECAPITULATIOK. 213 

to act. In the first place she causes a small grass to spring 
up and then a white clover, that the soil may be covered 
from the burning rays of the sun. The rains and dews 
fall and moisten the soil, and are prevented from being sud- 
denly evaporated by the covering which is thus provided. 
Thai water enriches gradually the soil, for we find the 
farmer tilling that field again in a few years. Jf water a- 
lone does not enrich the earth, how is it that all duck pud- 
dles, swamps, ditches and marshes become rich ? Look at 
the spot round your well which but a few years ago was 
a mere sand hill, it is now rich, and yet no manure has 
ever been put there. By what means is it rich ? Certain- 
ly not from any cause but water. 

A plant will not grow in earth alone. Take a portion 
of the richest earth that ever was seen, divest it of all wa- 
ter, and if you plant a seed in it, it will not grow. But 
seed will germinate and grow in water without a particle 
of earth. Take an acorn, attach a string to it, and hang it 
in a tumbler half full of water, just so as not to touch the 
water. Even the vapour which will rise by evaporati on 
from the water, will cause the acorn to send forth a stalk 
and roots, the latter of which will strike into the water 
and soon fill the bottom space of the tumbler. Wheat will 
also grow in water, and makes a beautiful appearance, as 
the process of germination is there visible, and it certain- 
ly is one of the most wonderful processes in nature. Mark 
the acorn before it goes into the earth ; it has nothing in 
its appearance which resembles the oak. A roundish, ob- 
long and pointed surface is all that presents itself to the 
eye. The shell bursts and a delicate little stem makes 
its appearance. Is it possible that in that acorn lie the 



214 RECAPITULATION. 

elements of the future lofty oak, destined to brave the 
storms of centuries ? Yes, though that delicate stem may 
now be broken with a pin, it may one day become the mon- 
arch of the mountain, or the pride of the forest. When 
we contemplate such things, well may we exclaim, '^mul- 
ium in parvo.^^ 

" An undevout astronomer is mad," says a great author, 
and I will add, that he who reads the book of nature and is 
not a wiser and a belter man, has spent his time to little 
purpose. How many pursuits are calculated, if reflected 
on aright, to elevate the soul to that Sublime Being, who 
has spread before us the glorious universe for our contem- 
plation. In the cultivation of the silkworm the mind may 
muse with pleasure and profit. In the life and transmi- 
gration of the silkworm, we see an almost perfect picture 
of the resurrection of man. It comes into the world a ti- 
ny insect, and grows with great rapidity. More wise than 
man, it prepares its own tomb and comes forth a beautiful 
butterfly, to work no more but to enjoy. Like man it had 
its infancy, like him grew up to labor, like him found a 
tomb, and arose from it in a white garb of beauty. 

Let the farmer follow nature as his guide ; let him ob- 
serve every and even the most minute operation in her 
grand field, and she will teach him the true and legitimate 
mode of procedure. Every vine has a lesson, and every 
flower a moral ; yea, every thing is fraught with wisdow, 
if man will read it. Believe not the fcikeptic for a moment. 
There is a wise God who reared and who rules the universe. 
I see Him in the grand system of worlds that roll through 
space, and I hear Him in the midnight blast. His majesty 
and power is pictured in the stormy ocean, and the beau- 



RECAPITULATION. 215 

ty of His loving kindness blossonns in the tree and blooms 
in the rose. Every spire of grass shows forth His good- 
ness, and every insect in earth and air hums His praise. 
Whether we seek His wisdom in a planet or a plant, in a 
feather or a fly, we find Him still the same grand, glorious 
and incomprehensible Being. 

My last words to the Farmer are, follow nature, husband 
your resources, and improve your mind as well as soil. 



3 477. 



